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LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


THE   REVOLUTION 

IN 

CONSTANTINOPLE  AND   TURKEY 


BOOKS  ON  TURKEY  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHORS 
IMPRESSIONS  OF  TURKEY.    BY  SIR  W.  M.  RAMSAY      6/- 
EVERYDAY  LIFE  IN  TURKEY.    BY  LADY  RAMSAY  -      5/- 
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WORKS   BY 

PROFESSOR  SIR  W.  M.  RAMSAY,  D.C.L. 

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LONDON:  HODDER  &  STOUGHTON 


The  Revolution 


IN 


Constantinople  and  Turkey 


A   DIART 


BY 

SIR    W.    M.    RAMSAY 


WITH  EPISODES  AND  PHOTOGRAPHS  BY 

LADY  RAMSAY 


HODDER    AND    STOUGHTON 
LONDON    MCMIX 


PREFACE 

WHEN  taking'the  train  for  Constantinople,  I  resolved 
to  keep  a  record  of  what  I  saw  and  heard  in  events 
that  seemed  likely  to  be  historical ;  and  day  by  day, 
in  train  or  steamer,  cab  or  Club,  the  diary  was  written. 
It  is  reproduced  here,  improved  in  expression,  but 
unchanged  in  meaning.  I  have  not  corrected  reports 
that  proved  incorrect,  and  anticipations  that  were 
falsified  in  the  issue.  They  were  generally  believed 
at  the  time  when  they  were  set  down ;  and  my  inten- 
tion is  to  give  a  picture  of  the  fears  and  conduct  of 
the  unknown  crowd  in  an  uncertain  situation  as  well 
as  to  record  the  judgment  expressed  by  well-informed 
authorities  whom  we  had  the  opportunity  of  meeting. 
The  picture  must  appear  confused,  but  it  could  not 
be  true  to  fact  otherwise,  for  hopes  and  apprehension 
chased  one  another,  and  emotions  varied  from  hour 
to  hour.  Additions  made  subsequently  to  prevent 
error  are  placed  within  brackets. 

It  is  my  object  not  to  set  down  opinions  of  my  own, 
but  to  record  impartially  those  of  others — stating  only 
our  reasons  for  persisting,  against  weighty  advice,  in 

our  plans  of  travel  in  Asiatic  Turkey.     But  doubtless 

(v) 


220686 


vi  Preface 

my  opinions  colour  the  narrative ;  and  therefore  I 
set  down  in  warning  three  opinions,  which  doubtless 
have  often  directed  my  observation,  (i)  I  have  a 
strong  belief  in  the  true  patriotism  and  noble  purpose 
of  many  leading  Young  Turks  and  of  the  movement 
generally.  (2)  The  Revolution  is  a  phase  of  the  long 
conflict  which  has  been  waged  throughout  historical 
memory  between  Asia  and  Europe.  At  present  it  is 
introducing  European  science  and  order  into  Turkey  ; 
but  it  is  essentially  patriotic,  and  will  become  more 
and  more  definitely  national.  (3)  It  is  closely  impli- 
cated in  the  great  European  questions,  and  especially 
that  of  the  relation  between  Britain  and  Germany. 
My  belief  is  that  some  of  the  most  serious  difficulties 
which  face  the  Young  Turks  proceed  from  the  diver- 
gent aims  of  those  two  countries  ;  but  that  the  true 
interests  of  all  three  are  identical ;  and  that  an  agree- 
ment between  Germany  and  Britain  could  be  made. 
The  chief  difficulty  which  prevents  such  an  agreement 
lies  in  the  deep-seated  disbelief  with  which  each 
country  regards  the  professions  of  the  other  :  each 
starts  with  the  conviction  that  nothing  which  the 
other  says  can  be  trusted,  and  that  the  other  is  bent 
on  deceiving  and  destroying  its  competitor.  I  have 
tried  to  describe  accurately  the  old  English  method 
and  the  new  German  method  of  dealing  with  the 
Turks,  and  to  state  fairly  the  advantages  and  the 


Preface  vii 

results  of  both.  The  latest  English  method  is  like 
the  German,  but  perhaps  improves  it 

As  the  book  is  a  Diary,  it  has  no  order  except  the 
sequence  of  experiences  and  of  thoughts  that  passed 
through  the  writer's  mind. 

People  often  think  of  Turkey  as  a  place  where  time 
is  wasted,  and  nothing  can  be  done  without  long 
delays.  My  experience  has  been  that  there  is  no 
country  where  my  business  is  done  with  so  little  loss 
of  time ;  though  there  is  infinite  delay  if  you  try  to 
obtain  from  the  Turks  what  they  do  not  wish  to  give. 
If  you  go  direct  to  the  Turkish  official,  deal  straight 
with  him,  and  make  him  feel  sure  that  you  have  no 
hidden  motives,  things  often  arrange  themselves  in  a 
few  minutes ;  but  our  Western  red-tape  and  unreal 
forms  are  an  abomination  to  him,  and  he  loves  to  foil 
official  requests,  which  he  believes  to  be  all  deceptive 
(a  belief  in  which  he  is  too  often  justified). 

Many  descriptions  of  incidents,  and  of  visits  to 
Turkish  ladies,  are  supplied  by  my  wife ;  and  word- 
photographs  of  two  scenes  are  extracted  from  the 
diary  of  my  daughter. 

To  Mr.  W.  M.  Calder,  Hulme  Research  Student 
of  Brasenose  College,  and  Craven  Fellow,  Oxford,  who 
often  appears  in  the  diary,  I  am  indebted  for  three 
excellent  photographs.  The  rest,  except  two,  are  by 

my  wife. 

W.  M.  RAMSAY. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.  THE  SITUATION 3 

Native  Christians  in  Turkey 5 

Liberals  and  Young  Turks 7 

Causes  of  the  Reaction 1 1 

Guilt  of  the  Reaction 13 

German  and  English  Feeling  .         .         .         .15 

The  Situation  during  the  Reaction  .         .         .19 

II.  DIARY  ON  THE  JOURNEY  AND  IN  CONSTANTINOPLE   .       21 
Conversation  with  a  Young  Turk    .         .         .         .23 

The  Balkans  Committee 33 

Effect  produced  by  Articles  in  the  Times         .         .       35 
Grand  Vizier  and  Young  Turks       .         .         .  37 

The  Foreign  Press  on  Turkish  Affairs      .         .         .41 
Austro-German  Forecast  of  Campaign    ...       43 

With  the  Army  of  Liberty 47 

Arrival  in  Constantinople 53 

Aspect  of  Pera 55 

Feeling  in  Pera     .         .         .         .         .         .         .57 

Anxiety  of  the  Inhabitants 59 

Stamboul  in  Time  of  Siege     .....       63 

Talk  with  a  Turkish  Editor 69 

Bargaining  among  the  Leaders        .         .         .         -75 

The  Chances  of  the  Contest 77 

Story  of  Mukhtar  Pasha's  Escape     ....       79 
Fugitives  from  Constantinople         ....       85 

Opinion  of  a  Greek  Priest 87 

(ix) 


Contents 


Anxiety  in  Constantinople  .....  89 
Last  Selamlik  of  Abd-ul-Hamid  .  .  .  .91 

Growing  Terror  in  the  City 93 

Entrance  of  the  Army  of  Liberty  .  .  .  -95 
Young  Volunteers  .  .  .  .  .  .99 

Pera  after  the  Attack 101 

Yildiz  Palace  still  untaken 105 

Conduct  of  the  Salonica  Troops  .  .  .  .107 
Number  of  the  Attacking  Army  .  ,  .  .  1 09 
Condition  of  the  Macedonian  Army  .  .  .  1 1 1 
Form  of  Deposition  of  a  Sultan  .  .  .  .113 
Situation  of  the  Liberals  .  .  .  .  .115 
Arrest  of  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din  .  .  .  .  1 1 7 
Public  Appearance  of  the  new  Sultan  .  .  .119 

Clearing  out  Yildiz  Palace 121 

Rejoicing  in  the  Streets 127 

Situation  in  Asiatic  Turkey 129 

The  Old  Sultan  Deported 133 

Release  of  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din  .  .  .  .135 
How  the  Old  Sultan  heard  the  News  .  .  .137 
An  Interview  ....  .  .  .139 

Robert  College 145 

The  American  Women's  College  ....  147 
First  Selamlik  of  Mohammed  V.  .  .  .149 

Speculation  as  to  the  New  Ministry         .         .         -159 

Review  of  the  Situation 161 

The  Plan  of  Massacre 163 

Weakening  of  Abd-ul-Hamid's  Intellect  .         .         .167 

Difficulties  of  the  Future 169 

Story  of  a  Spy        .         .         .         .         .         .         .171 

Sunday  at  the  Women's  College      .         .         .         .173 

Execution  of  Mutineers 175 

Views  of  a  Young  Turk  Lady  .  .  .  .  177 
Visit  to  another  Young  Turk  Lady  .  .  .181 
Farewell  Calls 185 


Contents  xi 


PAGE 

State  of  Yildiz  Palace 187 

Freedom  to  Travel         .         .         .         .         .         .191 

A  Last  View  of  Constantinople       .         .         .         .193 

III.  ASIA  MINOR  AFTER  THE  REVOLUTION       .         .         .195 

In  the  Train  to  Iconium 197 

Moslem  Form  of  Prayer         .         .         .         .         .199 

The  Plan  of  Massacre 201 

The  Massacre  in  Adana 205 

Story  of  the  Unwisdom  of  Criticism  .  .  .  209 
Growth  of  Education  in  Turkey  .  .  .  .211 

The  Young  Turks  in  Konia 213 

The  "  Lion  "  of  Mithras 215 

Young  Turk  Officers  at  the  Hotel  .  .  .  .223 
A  Lady's  Opinions  of  Turkey  .  .  .  .225 

Bargaining  for  Waggons 229 

The  Expedition 231 

A  Greek  Servant 233 

A  Story  of  the  Police 235 

The  German  Irrigation  Scheme  .  .  .  .237 
Official  Support  of  Merchants  .  .  .  .241 
Skilled  Workmen  in  Turkey  and  Scotland  .  .  243 

A  Story  of  Electric  Lighting 245 

Turk's  Plan  to  Improve  Anglo-Turkish  Relation      .     247 

Officialism  and  Red  Tape 249 

Consular  Kindness 251 

Prisoners  Walking  to  Adana 253 

Sultan's  dislike  to  sign  Death  Sentence  .  .  .255 
Mohammedan  Feeling  in  the  Villages  .  .  .257 
Growth  of  Mohammedan  Feeling  .  .  .  .261 

Trouble  at  a  Village 263 

Doing  Business  with  the  Kadi  .  .  .  .265 
The  Kadi  of  the  "  Arabian  Nights  "...  269 
A  Ladies'  Entertainment  .  .  .  .  .271 
A  Ladies'  Dance 27$ 


xii  Contents 


PAGR 

Work  at  Dorla 277 

Villagers  Dread  Christian  Retaliation      .         .         .279 

Success  at  Dorla 281 

Disease  at  Alkaran 283 

A  Turkish  Sanitary  Inspector  .  .  .  .285 
Fear  of  an  Armenian  Invasion  .  .  .  .287 
The  German  Irrigation  Scheme  .  .  .  .289 

German  Ambassador's  Visit 295 

Zeus  and  Hermes  at  Lystra 297 

Unhealthy  State  of  Village 299 

The  Black  Mountain     .         .         .         .         .         .301 

English  and  German  Enterprises     ....     303 

A  Journey  for  a  Horseshoe 305 

The  Magician  Disguises  Himself  .  .  .  .307 
Method  of  getting  Information  .  .  .  .309 
Discovery  of  the  Mithraic  Statuette  .  .  .311 

Prospects  of  Excavation 313 

An  Old  Military  Station 315 

IV.  THE  RETURN  JOURNEY 317 

The  Massacres  at  Adana 319 

Passports  and  Red  Tape 321 

An  Unhealthy  Season 323 


PLATES 

PAGE 

I.  Fraternising  with  the  Soldiers  of  Liberty  on  the 

way  to  Constantinople  .  .         .         .22 

II.  Soldiers  larking  while  the  train  stops    .         .  32 

III.  Soldiers  on  the  Railway  beside  Tchatalja  Lines    .       48 

IV.  Osman,  a  clerk  at  Serres,  Volunteer  in  the  Army 

of  Liberty 50 

V.  Prison  of  Agents  of  Abd-ul-Hamid  at  Tchatalja 

Station 72 

VI.  Volunteers  keeping  guard  in  Constantinople         .       96 
VII.  Palace  Servants  conducted  through  the  streets      .     112 

VIII.  Pupils   of  the   Military  College  serving  in  the 

Army  of  Liberty 126 

IX.  Young  Turk  Sentinels  on  the  Anatolian  Railway  .     130 

X.  Scene  in  the  Square  beside  the  Mosque  of  St. 

Sophia         .         .  ....     144 

XI.  First   Selamlik   of  Mehemet  V.  :    Scene  in  the 

Square 148 

XII.  First  Selamlik  of  Mehemet  V.  :    Scene   in   the 

Square 152 

XIII.  Scene  on  the  River  Sangarios     .         .         .         .194 

XIV.  Chained  Prisoners  sent  back  to  Adana         .         .194 

(xiii) 


xiv  Plates 


PAGE 


XV.  Disbanded  Soldiers  sent  back  to  their  homes  in 

Asia 196 

XVI.  Peace  on  the  Lycaonian  Plain  :  Evening  Prayer  .     198 

XVII.  Roman  Soldier  in  Uniform  with  military  decora- 
tions, grade  of  "  Lion  "  in  the  Ritual  of  Mithras     218 

XVIII.  Turkish   Bridge  and  Roman  Milestone  between 

Lystra  and  Isaura          .         .         .         .         .224 

XIX.  The  Village  of  Dorla  (New  Isaura)      .         .         .     224 

XX.  African  Woman  (Arab  in  Turkish),  slave  in  the 

Kadi's  Household  at  Dork    ....     240 

XXI.  Drawing  an  Ancient  Monument  at  Lamdar  in  the 

Isaurian  Hills 248 

XXII.  Village  Children  at  Appa 256 

XXIII.  Isaurian  Tombstone  at  Appa  in  the  hill-country 

of  Lystra      .......     256 

XXIV.  Portrait  of  a  Gendarme  of  Konia  at  work    .         .264 

XXV.  New  Well  near  Lystra :   arranging  the  apparatus 

for  drawing  water 272 

XXVI.  Driving  on  a  Turkish  Road  in  the  country  of 

Lystra 272 

XXVII.  A  Turkish  Road  in  the  country  of  Lystra    .         .280 

XXVIII.  Tcharshamba  River  flowing  into  the  Canon          .     280 

XXIX.  Interior  of  Dome  of  Church  No.  9       .         .         .     288 

XXX.  Two  of  the  Thousand  and  One  Churches,  No.  6 

and  No.  9 288 

XXXI.  The    Pilgrim    Father,    Hadji    Baba,    Mountain 

Guardian  of  the  Lycaonian  Plain  .         .         .296 


Plates  xv 


XXXII.  Hittite  Altar  from  Emir  Ghazi    .         .         .         .304 

XXXIII.  Stone  in  the  Cemetery  of  the  Holy  Transfigura- 

tion at  Konia :  one  side         .         .         .         .312 

XXXIV.  Same  Stone  :  other  side 318 


ADDENDUM 

Page  6,  footnote  :  The  vowels  of  the  name  vary  much  in  pro- 
nunciation :  Selenik,  Selinik,  etc. 


CONSTANTINOPLE  AND  TURKEY  IN 
THE  REVOLUTION  OF  APRIL,  1909 


I.  THE  SITUATION 

THE  following  diary  is  a  simple  record  of  the  experi- 
ences day  by  day  of  three  travellers,  bound  for  the 
inner  regions  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  but  storm-stayed  in 
Constantinople  for  seventeen  days  in  April,  until  some 
sort  of  definite  authority  was  established  in  the  capital 
and  in  the  country.  It  reflects  the  varying  emotions 
of  hope  and  anxiety,  in  what  was  really  a  very  critical 
time,  felt  from  hour  to  hour  by  the  inhabitants,  whose 
fortunes  and  whose  very  lives  in  many  cases  were 
staked  upon  the  issue  of  the  very  delicately  balanced 
contest.  In  Great  Britain  people  seem  to  have  heard 
little  that  was  really  well-informed  about  the  struggle 
in  Constantinople,  and  almost  every  one  thinks  that  the 
whole  facts  are  expressed  by  the  statement  that  a 
complete  and  apparently  easy  victory  was  gained  by 
the  Young  Turks  in  the  two  struggles  of  July,  1908, 
and  April,  1909 — a  statement  which  is  superficially 
quite  true,  but  in  reality  very  incomplete  and  mis- 
leading. Hence  there  exists  in  our  country  little 
appreciation  of  the  anxiety  in  which  the  people  of 
Constantinople  had  to  live  during  the  Revolution  of 
April,  1909,  and  utter  ignorance  of  the  imminent 
danger  in  which  they  were  involved. 

(3) 


The  Situation 


Especially  foreigners  who  never  come  in  contact 
with  the  ordinary  people,  and  even  official  residents 
who  live  within  easy  access  to  safe  and  well-guarded 
Embassies  in  the  European  quarter  of  Constantinople, 
are  often  quite  unable  to  appreciate  the  situation  of  the 
vast  masses  of  population  in  many  cities  besides  Con- 
stantinople, and  are  sceptical  about  the  reality  of  their 
danger,  or  contemptuous  of  their  cowardice  and  re- 
sourcelessness  in  the  face  of  danger.  For  example, 
a  friend  of  mine,  who  was  travelling  for  the  second 
successive  year  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  said  to  a  young  and 
active  Greek  of  Konia,  referring  to  the  massacre  that 
had  threatened  there,  and  the  apprehension  in  which 
the  Christians  had  been  living  for  days,  "  Why  did  you 
not  clear  out,  when  you  knew  days  beforehand  what 
was  going  to  happen?"  "Where  could  I  go  to?"  re- 
plied the  Greek ;  and  my  friend  knew  enough  about 
the  country  and  the  possibilities  of  the  case  to  see 
that  there  was  no  answer  to  the  question.  Three 
words  had  stated  the  whole  case.  One  had  simply  to 
wait  until  the  blow  fell,  and  then  sell  one's  life  as  dear  as 
possible  when  the  time  had  come.  This  Greek  got  a 
big  knife,  and  would  have  fought  like  a  wild  cat  at  the 
last.  In  the  interval  I  fear  he  only  drowned  his  care 
in  many  glasses  of  raki.  The  idea  of  trying  to  escape 
from  Konia  was  simply  ludicrous.  The  whole  country 
round  was,  indeed,  perfectly  open  ;  one  could  go  out 
freely  by  every  way  except  one ;  but  the  country  out- 
side was  as  hostile  and  dangerous  as  the  city.  One 
was  floating  in  a  sea  of  Mohammedanism  :  change  of 
place  would  not  have  meant  change  of  situation,  it 


Native  Christians  in  Turkey 


would  only  have  meant  the  substitution  of  one  environ- 
ment of  Mohammedans  for  another  ;  and  after  all  "go 
east,  go  west :  home  was  best "  for  the  Greek.  In 
Konia  he  had  many  Mohammedan  acquaintances,  and 
some  probably  might  have  helped  him,  even  in  the 
worst  excitement. 

I  have  said  that  only  one  exit  from  the  city  of 
Konia  was  guarded.  That  exit  was  through  the 
doors  of  the  railway  station.  But  the  trains  would 
accept  only  those  who  could  pay  for  their  tickets,  and 
a  ticket  to  any  place  distant  enough  to  offer  a  safer 
refuge  was  too  dear  for  all  but  a  very  few.  Moreover, 
no  one  was  ever  under  the  old  regime  allowed  to  enter 
or  leave  the  city  without  a  permit ;  and  police  were 
always  on  guard  at  that  solitary  exit.  The  fact  is  that 
the  Christian  in  Turkey  was  as  securely  guarded  as  a 
rat  in  a  trap ;  there  were  no  official  guards  except  at 
the  railway  station  and  in  the  Konak  Meidan  (Gov- 
ernment Square) ;  but  every  Mohammedan  was  a 
guard  and  a  possible  enemy  if  the  hour  of  danger 
came. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  the  native  Christians  in 
Turkey.  Who  can  wonder  at  the  bitterness  and 
hopelessness  of  their  minds  ?  Who  but  will  sympa- 
thise with  the  relief  that  they  felt  when  the  despot 
whose  rule  meant  for  them  such  a  life  of  anxiety  was 
swept  away  and  placed  in  his  turn  in  a  trap  where 
he  is  in  the  same  state  of  unprotected  anxiety  as  his 
former  Christian  subjects  used  to  be?  They  were 
formerly  denied  even  the  small  consolation  of  com- 
plaint ;  they  must  hide  their  feelings  with  the  most 


The  Situation 


anxious  care.  I  know  a  Greek  lady  of  some  educa- 
tion and  respectable  position,  the  wife  of  an  engineer 
in  the  Government  service  and  the  sister  of  a  priest 
who  is  quite  an  educated  man.  She  was  overheard 
expressing  her  opinion  about  the  tyrant,  and  was 
sentenced  to  a  term  of  imprisonment  in  a  filthy, 
verminous  jail,  a  single  dark  room,  with  a  herd  of 
criminals  and  women  of  the  lowest  class  ;  and  her  baby 
was  born  there.  That  is  the  sort  of  prison  in  which 
St.  Paul  was  confined  at  Philippi,  and  I  have  used  it 
(and  many  like  it  in  Turkey)  as  an  illustration  to  show 
the  naturalness  of  the  incidents  which  befell  him. 
Nowadays,  the  former  despot,  in  his  villa  at  Salonik,1 
is  as  much  debarred  from  the  expression  of  his  feelings 
as  those  Christian  subjects  of  his  formerly  were  ;  and 
who  will  pity  him  or  regret  his  hard  fate? — certainly 
not  his  Mohammedan  subjects,  who  suffered  almost  as 
much  as  the  Christians,  though  in  different  ways. 
Even  among  the  many  Moslems  who  are  out  of 
sympathy  with  the  Young  Turks,  and  who  are  strongly 
inclined  to  be  reactionary,  there  is  not,  so  far  as  I 
could  judge,  any  sympathy  with  the  fate  of  the  late 
Sultan.  He  reigned  to  the  suffering  and  terror  of  all, 
himself  always  in  as  great  anxiety  and  terror  as  the 
meanest  of  his  subjects ;  and  he  fell  without  rousing 
any  expression  or  feeling  of  sympathy  with  his  miser- 
able downfall. 

To  make  the  following  pages  clear  to  any  reader 
that  did  not  follow  closely  the  events  of  last  winter  in 

1  This  is  the  Turkish  name ;  but  the  commoner  form  Salonica  is 
used  throughout  the  following  pages. 


Liberals  and  Young  Turks 


Turkey,  it  will  be  well  to  explain  that,  after  the  ap- 
parently complete  victory  of  the  Young  Turks  in  July, 
1908,  there  gradually  developed  among  them  two 
parties,  the  Ahrar  or  Liberals  on  the  one  hand,  and 
those  who  adhered  to  the  Committee  of  Union  and 
Progress  on  the  other.  I  had  always  found  it  difficult, 
living  away  from  Turkey  during  the  winter,  to  detect 
any  serious  difference  in  principle  between  the  two ; 
and  good  observers,  who  had  resided  in  Constantinople 
throughout  the  whole  time  and  enjoyed  access  to  the 
best  information,  maintained  that  the  differences  lay 
more  in  personal  feeling  than  in  political  principle. 
The  one  matter  of  principle  that  distinguished  them 
was  that  the  Liberals  inclined,  more  or  less,  to  some 
form  of  Home  Rule,  which  should  leave  the  different 
parts  of  the  Empire  free  to  manage  their  internal 
affairs,  whereas  the  other  party  maintained  that,  in  an 
Empire  where  the  parts  were  so  sharply  divided  from 
one  another  in  feeling  and  racial  character  and  even  in 
language,  as  Arabia,  Syria,  Kurdistan  and  Anatolia 
are  from  Macedonia  and  the  Greek  regions  and  islands 
of  the  West,  it  was  impossible  to  maintain  unity  ex- 
cept through  a  strongly  centralised  Government.  But 
this  idea  of  Home  Rule  was  a  mere  fancy  floating  in 
the  minds  of  some,  never  materialised  in  any  plan  or 
formal  proposal.  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din1  was  under- 
stood to  be  its  warmest  admirer  and  partisan  ;  but  he 
held  no  official  position.  Kiamil  Pasha,  the  Grand 
Vizier  and  the  official  head  of  the  Liberals,  was  not 

1  He  is  a  nephew  of  the  late  and  the  present  Sultan,  but  was 
long  an  exile  on  account  of  his  free  views. 


8  The  Situation 


believed  to  regard  it  as  a  practical  possibility ;  and 
many  other  Liberals  had  no  thought  of  such  lofty 
principles,  but  were  entirely  immersed  in  the  facts  of 
the  moment  and  the  struggle  to  maintain  themselves 
in  power. 

The  real  difference  was  this.  The  Liberals  were 
in  possession  of  most  of  the  official  positions  and  of 
apparent  authority.  They  could  be  seen  and  known. 
The  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress  was  a  secret 
body,  whose  meetings  and  members  and  deliberations 
were  unknown,  but  which  exercised  great  power  in  an 
incalculable  and  irresponsible  fashion.  The  leaders  of 
the  Young  Turks,  after  the  victory  of  July,  1908,  had 
shown  great  self-denial  in  refusing  all  rewards  and  all 
offices  of  dignity  or  outward  show.  But  the  Committee, 
which  had  conducted  the  revolution,  forced  the  Sul- 
tan to  accept  the  Constitution,  and  really  appointed 
the  officials,  did  not  dissolve  itself  and  leave  the 
Ministers  of  State  a  free  hand  to  conduct  the  affairs  of 
Government.  There  was  always  that  secret,  supreme 
authority  standing  behind  the  chairs  of  State  on  which 
the  Ministers  sat ;  and  no  one  knew  when  or  how  it 
might  intervene  to  direct  or  thwart  their  action.  This 
anomalous  situation  was  defended  on  the  ground  that 
the  Constitution  was  too  young  and  weak,  and  that 
its  makers  could  not  venture  to  leave  it  to  work  its 
way,  but  must  be  ready  to  save  it  from  danger  and  to 
guide  it  in  case  of  difficulty.  There  was  considerable 
truth  in  this  plea ;  but,  evidently,  such  a  double  author- 
!ty,  the  ostensible  and  the  secret,  made  the  machinery 
of  government  delicate  and  difficult ;  and  it  could  only 


Liberals  and  Young  Turks 


be  kept  in  working  order  by  the  exercise  of  great  dis- 
cretion and  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  secret  Com- 
mittee. I  believe  that  none  of  its  most  ardent  adherents 
felt  that  the  members  of  the  Committee  had  always 
shown  perfect  discretion  in  their  interference  with  the 
conduct  of  affairs.  As  I  was  informed  by  good  and 
friendly  judges,  even  the  most  enthusiastic  Young 
Turks  acknowledged  that  mistakes  had  been  made. 
The  difficulty  was  that  no  one  knew  who  or  what  was 
the  Committee,  or  what  it  had  determined ;  and  well- 
meaning,  but  not  always  well-informed,  persons  some- 
times acted  as  if  they  were  the  Committee,  without 
any  formal  consultation  of  others.  These  faults,  which 
sprang  from  excess  of  zeal,  combined  with  inexperience, 
were  undeniable  and  confessed ;  and,  probably,  they 
might  have  been  corrected  if  a  peaceful  development 
of  events  had  been  permitted. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Liberals  were,  on  the  whole, 
the  party  in  possession  of  official  power,  although  some 
of  its  leading  men,  such  as  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din,  re- 
mained in  a  private  position.  There  is  always  a 
temptation  for  officials  to  aim  at  permanent  possession  ; 
and  in  Turkey  there  is  also  always  a  temptation  to 
take  the  advantages  which  office  presents  in  the  form 
of  bribes.  Kiamil  Pasha  himself  was  recognised  as 
absolutely  honest.  He  possesses  the  unique  distinction 
of  having  been  three  times  Grand  Vizier,  and  yet  having 
remained  a  comparatively  poor  man.  But  the  old 
system  of  government  by  bribery  cannot  be  easily  or 
quickly  eradicated.  Though  some  of  the  Reformist 
leaders  were,  like  Kiamil,  perfectly  honest,  actuated  by 


io  The  Situation 


true  patriotism,  and  sincerely  desirous  of  keeping  the 
government  pure,  yet  others,  who  had  been  capable  of 
rising  in  the  moment  of  the  first  enthusiasm  to  a  high 
level  of  patriotism,  were  not  able  to  maintain  them- 
selves permanently  on  the  same  level  throughout  the 
drudgery  of  everyday  life  and  work.  I  was  assured 
by  one  who  knew  well  what  are  the  practical  facts  of 
Turkish  life,  that  it  was  distinctly  more  expensive  to 
get  a  concession  from  Government  during  last  winter 
than  it  had  been  under  the  old  regime.  Previously 
there  was  a  certain  well-known  lot  of  persons  whose 
favour  had  to  be  bought,  three  or  four  in  the  Palace, 
two  or  three  in  the  Ministry  ;  but  under  the  new 
system  there  were  a  hundred  or  two  whose  support 
must  be  obtained. 

The  evil  genius  of  the  Liberals  was  Said  Bey,  the 
third  and  favourite  son  of  Kiamil  Pasha.  In  1907, 
when  we  were  last  in  Smyrna,  where  his  father  had 
been  Governor  for  many  years,  I  heard  the  worst 
accounts  of  him  from  many  sides  :  he  was  declared 
to  be  the  most  corrupt  of  the  Turks  and  to  be  in 
league  with  the  brigands,  who  certainly  were  worse 
in  the  province  than  I  have  ever  known  them  to  be 
during  thirty  years ;  and  they  have  sometimes  been 
very  bad.  In  Constantinople  Said  wrought  much  evil 
by  his  reckless,  unprincipled  and  corrupt  conduct ; 
and  his  old  father  unfortunately  believed  to  the  end 
in  his  honesty  and  high  character.  The  stories  that 
were  told  of  him,  one  or  two  specimens  of  which  will 
be  found  in  the  following  pages,  were  almost  incredible. 
He  had  more  to  do  with  wrecking  the  Liberal  party 


Causes  of  the  Reaction  1 1 

and  the  Government  of  Kiamil  than  any  other  person. 
The  hatred  felt  for  him  was  intense  and  almost  uni- 
versal ;  and  his  father  necessarily  suffered  from  it. 

The  two  sections  of  the  originally  single  reform 
party  were  thus  gradually  embittered  against  one 
another,  partly  by  faults  of  temper,  partly  by  worse 
faults  ;  and  at  last  in  the  month  of  February  the  Ministry 
of  Kiamil  Pasha  was  overthrown,  and  a  new  Grand 
Vizier,  more  acceptable  to  the  Committee  of  Union 
and  Progress,  Hilmi  Pasha,  was  appointed.  There 
followed  on  i3th  April  a  Reaction.  The  soldiers 
mutinied  against  the  established  Government,  murdered 
a  certain  number  of  military  and  civil  officials,  and 
compelled  a  change  of  Government :  they  complained 
that  the  Religious  Law  of  the  Sheriat  was  endangered, 
they  demanded  freedom  to  pray  when  and  as  often 
as  they  pleased,  and  called  for  officials  who  were  faith- 
ful to  the  Sheriat.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
mutineers  were  bribed  and  misinformed.  There  is  no 
doubt  also  that  orders  which  were  injudicious  had 
been  issued  by  the  military  authorities ;  and  the 
general  in  command  of  the  First  Army  Corps  (the 
army  stationed  at  Constantinople),  Ahmed  Mukhtar 
Pasha,  was  especially  blamed  by  the  soldiers,  who 
were  bent  on  killing  him.  The  general  narrowly 
escaped  death,  thanks  to  the  shelter  courageously 
given  him  in  an  English  house  :  the  story  is  told  in 
the  following  diary. 

The  difficulty  is  to  determine  how  much  share  in  pro- 
voking the  Mutiny  must  be  assigned  to  the  one  cause, 
and  how  much  to  the  other  ;  but  that  both  causes 


12  The  Situation 


combined  to  produce  the  result  is  certain.  The  soldiers 
were  provoked  by  a  general  order  that  prayers  must 
give  way  to  military  requirements.  Agitators  took  ad- 
vantage of  their  discontent  to  preach  insurrection, 
assuring  them  that  Christians  were  to  be  placed  in 
authority  over  them,  that  Christians  had  been  mainly 
instrumental  in  causing  the  Revolution  of  July,  1908, 
and  slighting  the  Sultan,  and  that  the  whole  army  was 
to  be  compelled  to  adopt  Christianity.  Money  also 
was  distributed  to  the  soldiers  in  abundance — as  to  this 
no  doubt  can  exist  in  any  unprejudiced  mind  ;  numbers 
of  witnesses  told  me  what  they  had  seen  ;  the  fact  that 
soldiers  previously  poor  have  come  into  possession  of 
money  cannot  be  hid. 

What  has  been  disputed  is,  who  was  the  instigator 
of  the  agitation,  and  who  supplied  the  money.  If  we 
apply  the  old  Roman  principle,  cui  bono  ? — who  had  to 
gain  by  it  ? — there  cannot  be  any  doubt  that  the  Sultan 
stood  to  gain  far  more  than  any  one  else.  Also  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  he  had  abundance  of  money  ;  and 
ready  money  is  scarce  among  the  Turks.  A  few 
people  defended  him,  declared  that  he  was  absolutely 
loyal  to  the  Constitution,  and  maintained  that  the 
Mutiny  had  been  caused  solely  by  the  injudicious 
orders  against  prayers ;  but  I  am  bound  to  say  that 
the  evidence  is  simply  overwhelming  that,  while  those 
orders  provoked  discontent,  the  discontent  was  actively 
fomented  through  some  concerted  plan.  Months 
before,  in  the  early  winter  of  1908,  I  received  infor- 
mation from  Constantinople,  at  one  time  that  the 
Sultan  was  actively  engaged  in  intrigues  against  the 


Guilt  of  the  Reaction  1 3 

Government  and  the  Constitution,  at  another  time 
that  at  any  moment  the  Sultan  might  be  dethroned 
on  account  of  the  intrigues  which  he  was  fomenting. 
His  defenders  maintained  that  this  information  was 
false. 

Another  dispute  was  on  the  question  what  share,  if 
any,  the  Liberals,  now  out  of  power  and  desirous  of 
regaining  power,  took  in  instigating  the  Mutiny.  The 
opinion  which,  on  the  whole,  gradually  prevailed,  was 
that  some  of  the  Liberals,  the  worst  and  most  reck- 
less among  them,  were  gravely  implicated,  that  others 
had  at  least  been  inclined  to  look  at  the  Mutiny 
passively,  and  watch  it  without  active  regret  as  it 
discomfited  their  triumphant  rivals,  but  that  others 
were  absolutely  free  from  blame,  and  regarded  the 
whole  proceeding  with  regret  and  distrust. 

Such  was  the  situation,  and  such  were  the  questions 
agitating  people's  minds  and  discussed  by  everybody 
in  Constantinople  when  we  went  there.  I  was  eagerly 
desirous  of  getting  at  the  truth.  I  was  acquainted 
with  at  least  one  man  who  knows  Turkey  as  few 
men  do,  and  who  vehemently  maintained  the  Sultan's 
perfect  innocence.  For  his  opinion  on  any  matter  of 
Turkish  politics  I  had  learned  to  entertain  the  highest 
respect,  and  I  was  therefore  not  likely  to  set  it  aside 
lightly  as  erroneous.  I  weighed  the  facts  and  the 
evidence  without  prejudice,  and  set  down  day  by  day 
what  I  saw  and  heard  and  learned,  without  committing 
myself  prematurely  to  any  opinion.  In  the  long  run 
I  came  to  a  definite  conclusion  as  to  the  general  run 
of  the  facts.  It  has,  however,  not  been  my  aim  to 


14  The  Situation 


state  my  own  opinions  about  Turkish  matters — that 
has  been  done  as  well  as  I  could  in  my  Impressions 
of  Turkey — but  to  record  the  opinions  of  those  whom 
I  met,  so  far  as  they  seemed  typical  of  present  condi- 
tions in  Turkey. 

One  other  question  of  a  very  different  kind  is  even 
more  pressing  on  the  attention  of  any  English  citizen. 
It  was  the  German  policy  in  Turkey  to  support  and 
defend  the  late  Sultan  in  all  his  acts.  The  Sultan 
was  the  bitter  and  fanatical  and  relentless  enemy  of 
England ;  he  hated  almost  all  Europeans  and  all 
European  interference,  and  England  was  to  him  the 
quintessence  of  everything  that  he  detested  in  the  way 
of  foreign  interference  with  Turkey.  The  declaration 
of  the  Constitution  was,  therefore,  a  great  blow  to 
Germany,  and  a  great  gain  to  English  influence  in 
Turkey.  The  enemies  of  the  tyrant  were  the  friends 
of  Turkish  freedom.  But  Germany  had  no  friendship 
for  the  Sultan ;  she  merely  used  him  for  her  own 
purposes,  and  threw  him  aside  the  moment  he  ceased 
to  be  advantageous  to  her.  Then  began  a  struggle 
for  influence  in  Constantinople.  Germany  gauged  the 
situation  with  consummate  skill.  She  foresaw  that  in 
the  struggle  between  the  Liberals  and  the  Committee 
the  Committee  would  win ;  and  she  backed  the 
Committee  with  all  her  power. 

In  truth,  it  did  not  require  any  deep  insight  to  per- 
ceive that  the  Liberals  were  a  motley  and  heterogene- 
ous group,  not  very  numerous,  and  not  united  in  any 
policy  ;  whereas  the  Committee  had  certain  clear  and 
definite  aims,  which  a  vast  majority  in  the  Chamber 


German  and  English  Feeling  15 

of  Deputies  regarded  as  absolutely  essential.  English 
feeling  was  misled  by  strong  and  well-deserved  per- 
sonal sympathy  with  Kiamil  Pasha,  by  implicit  con- 
fidence in  his  honesty  (which  was  also  thoroughly 
right),  and  by  firm  belief  in  his  governing  capacity 
(which  was  not  so  well  justified  by  his  past  career, 
with  its  mournfully  demonstrated  incapacity  to  pre- 
serve even  moderate  order  and  peace  in  the  Province 
of  Smyrna).  Kiamil's  public  and  strong  preference  for 
the  Liberals  produced  in  many,  who  trusted  in  his 
skill  and  insight,  the  belief  that  the  Liberals  would 
win,  whereas  the  event  showed  beyond  dispute  that 
they  had  no  power  in  themselves,  and  must  either  go 
to  ruin  or  lean  on  the  strong  latent  force  of  Moham- 
medanism and  Reaction.  Kiamil  himself  was  ap- 
parently decided  in  his  preference  for  the  Liberals 
mainly  by  dislike  for  the  secret  power  of  the  Com- 
mittee, which  frequently  intervened,  and  interfered 
with  his  action. 

The  Press  in  Constantinople  was  gradually  won 
over  to  support  the  policy  of  Germany  ;  people  who 
knew  much,  and  who  require  to  know  much  in  order 
to  live  in  Turkey,  assured  me  that  German  money 
was  freely  spent  in  winning  the  Press.  One  im- 
portant paper  alone  remained  actively  friendly  to 
England  in  the  early  days  of  April,  called  the  Ikdam 
in  its  Turkish  edition  and  the  Inde"pendant  in  its  French 
edition.  It  was  the  most  influential  paper  and  had 
the  largest  circulation  in  Constantinople.  Its  fate  and 
the  guilt  or  innocence  of  its  two  editors  were  burning 
questions  during  the  first  few  days  of  our  stay  there. 


1 6  The  Situation 


I  had  a  long  conversation  with  one  of  the  editors  on 
the  day  that  he  escaped  from  the  city. 

The  story  went,  also,  that  Germany  financed  the 
Young  Turks  in  their  march  on  Constantinople  during 
that  eventful  week.  Whether  there  was  any  truth  in 
the  story  I  do  not  presume  to  judge,  but,  if  there 
was,  a  country's  money  never  was  better  spent  for  its 
interests.  The  triumphant  entry  of  the  Army  of 
Freedom  was  universally  regarded  as  a  German 
triumph  and  as  a  humiliation  to  England.  That  was 
felt  and  acknowledged  by  all  whom  I  spoke  to.  How 
did  it  come  about  that  whereas  the  Revolution  of 
July,  1908,  was  the  triumph  of  English  influence,  the 
Revolution  of  April,  1909,  which  placed  the  same 
men  once  more  in  authority,  was  considered  to  be 
the  downfall  of  English  influence?  It  is  a  strange 
and  hardly  comprehensible  reversal. 

In  the  long  struggle  between  the  Liberals  and  the 
adherents  of  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress, 
England  had  supported  the  Liberals  with  her  whole 
influence.  Many  people  thought  and  said  that  she 
was  carrying  her  interference  in  the  affairs  of  a  foreign 
country  to  an  extraordinary  and  almost  unparalleled 
point;  and  those  critics  were  sincere  friends  to  Eng- 
land and  the  most  patriotic  of  Englishmen,  of  very 
diverse  political  views,  some  of  them  Conservatives 
from  childhood  and  by  heredity,  others  ardent  Liberals 
in  English  politics.  The  Ahrar,  the  Turkish  Liberal 
party,  had  so  managed,  or  mismanaged,  its  affairs,  that 
at  the  last  the  Reaction  and  the  Mutiny  had  seemed 
to  come  as  the  logical  and  necessary  result  of  its 


German  and  English  Feeling  17 

endeavours  to  regain  power ;  and  thus  the  ludicrous 
and  almost  incredible  situation  that  to  outside  observers 
English  influence  in  Constantinople,  which  had  been 
identified  too  much  with  Kiamil  Pasha  and  the  Ahrar, 
seemed  to  depend  on  the  success  of  the  Reaction. 
Now,  whatever  was  its  origin,  and  whoever  stimulated 
it,  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  the  Reaction  meant 
the  restoration  of  the  Sultan's  powers.  The  soldiers 
openly  proclaimed  that,  and  no  one  could  deny  the 
patent  fact ;  the  mutineers  championed  the  Faith  and 
the  Padishah  against  the  Reformers  and  the  Chris- 
tians. Every  prominent  Turkish  champion  of  reform 
and  liberty,  except  a  few  of  the  old  Liberals,  had  to 
flee  in  order  to  escape  death  after  the  first  day  of  the 
Mutiny.  The  Liberals  could  remain  safely;  but 
Abd-ul-Hamid  had  regained  in  large  degree  his 
former  influence.  The  members  of  Parliament  were 
mostly  afraid  to  assemble ;  one  representative  was 
taken  out  of  his  carriage  on  his  way  to  the  meeting  of 
1 3th  April,  and  murdered  in  the  street ;  and  Parlia- 
mentary power  had  ceased. 

There  was  not,  in  any  unprejudiced  mind,  the 
slightest  doubt  that  the  Liberals  would  in  their  turn 
be  proscribed  by  the  Sultan,  if  the  Reaction  had  per- 
manently triumphed.  I  do  not  see  how  any  even  of 
those  who  had  maintained  that  the  Sultan  was  in 
April  acting  with  strict  loyalty  to  the  Constitution, 
could  carry  their  advocacy  of  him  to  the  extent  of 
believing  that,  when  power  was  restored  to  him  by 
the  action  of  others,  he  would  or  could  refrain  from 
using  it  after  his  old  fashion,  engrained  in  him  during 


1 8  The  Situation 


more  than  thirty  years  of  practice  and  urged  on  him 
by  his  whole  entourage. 

When  the  struggle  broke  out  anew  between  the 
Committee  of  Union  and  Progress,  with  its  head- 
quarters at  Salonica  and  Adrianople,  and  the  Reaction- 
ary elements  inspired  from  Yildiz  Kiosk,  with  or 
without  the  connivance  of  the  Sultan,  the  Liberals  in 
Turkey  had  ceased  to  be  a  power  and  were  either 
living  in  retirement  and  sorrow  or  hoping  for  the 
triumph  of  the  Reaction.  The  cause  of  Freedom  and 
the  Constitution  had  passed  wholly  into  the  keeping 
of  the  Committee.  The  soldiers  of  the  Committee 
were  the  Army  of  Liberty  marching  on  Constanti- 
nople, financed  (as  many  rightly  or  wrongly  believed) 
by  Germany.  The  soldiers  in  Constantinople  were 
mutineers  who  had  risen  against  their  officers  and 
murdered  some  of  them  ;  they  were  to  a  considerable 
extent  an  army  without  officers,  for  many  of  these  had 
fled  to  Salonica  and  (as  the  story  ran)  260  of  them 
had  been  secretly  murdered  in  the  Palace  of  Yildiz  ; * 
they  were  an  army  fighting  for  absolutism,  for  the  old 
Moslem  custom  and  Sacred  Law,  and  for  the  restora- 
tion of  Abd-ul-Hamid's  old  methods  of  rule.  What- 
ever had  been  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  the  long 
struggle  between  Ahrar  and  the  Committee,  the  wheel 
of  fortune  had  so  come  round  that  every  one  who 
believed  in  freedom,  every  one  who  hated  tyranny 
and  the  policy  of  massacre  and  espionage  and  repres- 
sion, must  now  long  for  the  triumph  of  the  Committee. 

1  This  story,  like  other  matters  here  touched  on,  will  appear 
more  in  the  diary. 


during  the  Reaction  19 

The  belief  entertained  by  90  per  cent,  of  all  the  people 
in  Constantinople  was  that  the  Army  of  Freedom 
was  favoured  by  Germany,  and  that  English  influence, 
which  had  supported  Kiamil  Pasha  and  the  Liberals, 
was  now  identified  with  the  Reaction.  That  this  last 
belief  was  entirely  false  I  do  not  need  even  to  state 
in  a  book  addressed  to  English  readers  ;  but  expres- 
sions of  sympathy  for  the  Sultan  were  heedlessly 
and  needlessly  uttered  by  some  English  people  who 
believed  in  his  innocence  during  the  Mutiny,  and  were 
reported  in  exaggerated  form  throughout  all  Con- 
stantinopolitan  society  ;  and  similar  expressions  were 
uttered  in  a  different  and  disgraceful  sense  by  a  very 
few  English  people  whose  interests  were  identified 
with  those  of  the  Sultan  ;  and  these  words  were  turned 
to  account  by  the  enemies  of  England.  Fortunately, 
the  staunch  and  unhesitating  attitude  of  many  English 
people,  whose  names  and  views  had  been  familiar  for 
many  years  to  all  old  residents  in  the  city,  prevented 
any  permanent  and  serious  harm  to  our  reputation 
among  the  Turks,  who  know  the  English  from  long 
acquaintance  and  a  certain  natural  sympathy ;  but 
in  all  my  experience  of  Turkey  (beginning  in  May, 
1880)  there  never  was  a  time  when  such  strong  hostility 
to  England  was  so  openly  expressed  in  Constantino- 
politan  society  as  the  middle  of  April,  1909. 

It  has  seemed  necessary  to  explain  the  situation  of 
affairs  and  feeling  which  we  found  in  Constantinople, 
in  order  that  the  following  record  of  actual  experience, 
and  of  facts  set  down  as  they  occurred  without  suffici- 
ent explanation  of  their  bearing,  may  be  intelligible  to 


2O  The  Situation 


the  reader.  It  may  be  added  that  I  hardly  came 
into  contact  with  the  English  official  world  in  Con- 
stantinople, and  have  nothing  to  tell  about  official 
views.  The  few  occasions  on  which  I  saw  officials  for 
a  few  minutes  are  mentioned  in  the  diary,  and  nothing 
passed  on  those  occasions  which  was  not  suited  for 
verbatim  publication  in  all  the  Constantinople  and 
London  papers,  with  one  single  exception  ;  and  there 
is  now  no  reason  why  that  interview  should  not  be 
fully  described,  as  it  tells  only  to  the  credit  of  the 
foresight  shown  at  the  Embassy,  and  shows  nothing  to 
confirm  the  malignant  rumours  which  were  current  in 
Constantinople  about  its  action  and  feeling. 

For  convenience  the  name  "  Young  Turks  "  is  used 
in  the  following  pages  to  denote  the  party  which  sup- 
ported the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress  and 
opposed  the  Liberals  ;  though  it  is  true  and  fair  to  say 
that  some  or  even  many  of  the  principal  Liberals  had 
originally  been  enthusiastic  members  of  the  Young 
Turk  party,  and  had  taken  an  active  and  honourable 
part  in  the  Revolution  of  July,  1908.  Such,  for  ex- 
ample, was  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din,  a  leading  member 
of  the  original  committee  of  exiles  in  Paris  which  was 
the  mainspring  of  the  whole  movement,  and  a  man 
of  the  highest  honour. 


II.  DIARY  ON  THE  JOURNEY  AND  IN 
CONSTANTINOPLE 

Saturday,  April  17. — We  arrived  in  Berlin  direct 
from  Scotland  via  Hamburg,  intending  to  stay  three 
days,  as  I  wished  to  see  several  of  the  professors  in 
the  University  and  of  the  officials  in  the  Museum,  and 
make  some  arrangements  about  the  work  which  we 
proposed  for  ourselves  in  Turkey.  There  we  learned 
from  the  morning  papers  that  the  Young  Turks  were 
collecting  troops  in  Macedonia  with  the  intention  of 
marching  on  Constantinople.  My  daughter  at  once 
exclaimed  :  "  Could  we  not  go  straight  on,  and  be  there 
when  the  fighting  begins  ?  "  As  we  did  not  want  to 
spend  our  time  in  Germany  or  Austria,  and  as  it  was 
probable  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  enter  Constanti- 
nople after  the  Army  of  Freedom  had  once  assembled 
and  begun  the  war,  we  resolved  to  take  the  first  train, 
which  started  that  afternoon  about  4  o'clock.  We 
had  to  make  some  slight  preparations,  and  to  purchase 
tickets ;  and  our  passports  required  to  get  the  visa  of 
the  Turkish  Consulate,  which  could  only  be  procured 
through  the  British  Consulate.  The  official  at  our 
Consulate — I  did  not  gather  whether  he  was  actually 
the  consul  or  a  secretary — though  he  expressed  some 
surprise  at  our  hurried  departure  for  so  disturbed  a 
scene  as  Constantinople,  got  the  matter  put  through 

with  speed,  and  by  i  P.M.  we  were  all  ready. 

(21) 


22  Saturday,  April  17 

An  old  pupil  of  mine,  now  Craven  Fellow  in  the 
University  of  Oxford  and  Hulme  Research  Student 
of  Brasenose,  called  after  ringing  me  up  on  the  tele- 
phone. He  wired  yesterday  to  Aberdeen  to  ask 
about  my  movements,  and  heard  that  I  was  believed 
to  be  in  Berlin.  He  arranged  to  travel  with  us,  if 
he  could  be  ready  in  time,  and  if  not  to  follow  us  by 
to-morrow's  train.  As  it  turned  out,  he  had  to  take  the 
second  alternative. 

Sunday,  April  18. — We  reached  Buda-Pesth  at 
9.30  A.M.,  and  had  to  wait  till  3.15  for  the  train  to 
Constantinople.  After  depositing  our  bags  at  the 
Central  Station  we  went  into  the  city ;  and  in  the 
Parliament  House  met  among  other  people  an  Italian 
gentleman  who  had  arrived  from  Constantinople  this 
forenoon.  He  expressed  amazement  that  we  should 
think  of  going  thither,  and  said  that  everybody  who 
could  get  away  was  hurrying  out  of  the  city,  and  that 
he  had  left  his  business — in  fact  there  was  no  business 
to  be  done — and  was  going  to  a  safer  country  till  things 
were  settled  one  way  or  other.  This  gave  us  good 
hopes  of  finding  plenty  of  room  in  the  sleeping-car  ; 
and,  as  it  turned  out,  my  wife  and  daughter  got  a 
room  to  themselves,  and  I  had  only  one  companion  in 
mine,  who  proved  very  interesting. 

In  the  waiting-room,  where  we  were  all  herded  in  a 
crowd  after  the  German  fashion  waiting  until  the 
train  was  ready  and  the  doors  were  opened,  we  noticed 
an  active  yet  powerfully  built  Turk  in  a  fez ;  and  the 
word  was  passed  round  in  German  (and  probably  also 
in  Magyar)  that  this  was  a  Young  Turk.  The  de- 


I.— P.  22. 


Fraternising  with  the  Soldiers  of  Liberty  on  the  way  to  Constantinople. 

(Volunteers  wear  White  Caps.) 

Seep.  48. 


Conversation  with  a  Young  Turk  23 

meanour  of  the  crowd  showed  very  plainly  that  the 
Young  Turk  cause  had  their  full  sympathy.  In  the 
train  I  found  that  there  was  along  with  me  a  young 
man  of  a  very  alert,  resolute  and  intelligent  look,  who 
was  speaking  French  to  the  conductor  quite  fluently, 
but  still  evidently  as  a  foreigner  who  had  learned 
French.  That  suited  me,  because  I  find  that  French 
people  speak  so  fast  that  they  finish  three  sentences 
while  I  am  grasping  the  meaning  of  one,  so  that  I 
understand  only  every  third  sentence  in  their  speeches, 
whereas  Turks  and  Armenians  speak  intelligible 
French.  To  pay  him  a  delicate  compliment  and  to 
open  conversation  I  asked  him  if  he  were  French. 
He  answered  that  he  was  a  Turk  ;  and  I  soon  found 
that  he  was  accompanied  by  the  man  in  the  fez,  who 
was  travelling  more  economically  in  the  adjoining 
carriage,  which  was  not  a  sleeper.  Both  were  going 
straight  through  to  Salonica,  and  both  impressed  me 
by  their  marked  difference  in  type  from  the  Anatolian 
Turks,  to  whom  I  am  more  accustomed.  In  ges- 
ture and  word  they  presented  a  strong  contrast 
to  the  grave,  statuesque  and  almost  stolid  dignity  of 
the  Turks  of  Asia.  They  were  true  Europeans,  not 
Asiatics ;  they  had  the  quickness  in  physical  move- 
ment and  alertness  of  look  that  belong  to  the  West.1 

1  That  can  be  imparted  to  a  considerable  degree  by  training  in 
boyhood.  In  some  small  Anatolian  towns  we  have  often  detected 
that  a  chance  passer-by  had  been  educated  at  an  American  Mission 
College,  simply  from  noticing  the  way  he  walked  in  the  street, 
while  all  others  shuffled  along,  even  peasant  mountaineers  accus- 
tomed to  long  marches  and  capable  of  great  endurance. 


24  Sunday,  April  18 

One  was  not  surprised  to  hear  that  they  were  Young 
Turks.     My  room-mate  had,  as  he  told  me,  gone  only 
a   few  weeks  ago   to  occupy  an   official   post   in   a 
European  capital ;  and  he  had  now  thrown  up  his  official 
duties,  and  was  travelling  to  Salonica  to  join  the  troops 
which  were  gathering  there.     I  asked  about   Enver 
Bey,  one  of  the  two  boldest  leaders  of  the  insurrection 
in  July  last,  who  was  military  attache  to  the  Embassy 
in  Berlin ;  and  learned  that  he  had  already  arrived  at 
Salonica.     Then,  as  my  wife  and  daughter  would,  I 
knew,  be  intensely  interested,  I  went  to  fetch  them ; 
and  we  had  a  long  conversation  about  the  situation  in 
Turkey.      My  new  acquaintance,  whom  I  shall  call 
Mehmet  Bey,  though  that  was  not  his  real  name,  stated 
his  views  with  the  most  perfect  frankness  and  decision. 
In  the  Revolution  of  July,  1908,  when  the  Constitu- 
tion was  established,  the  Young  Turks,  he  said,  had 
made  a  mistake,  and  they  were  not  going  to  repeat 
the  error.     The  life  of  the  Sultan  was  the  death  of 
the  Young  Turk.     One  or  other  must  leave  the  stage 
of  history ;  and  the  party  was  going  to  "  mak  siccar" 
this  time.     The  Liberals  had  betrayed  the  party,  and 
were  cajoled  by  the  Sultan,  whose  plan  was  to  crush 
the  Young  Turks  with  the  help  of  the  Liberals,  and 
thereafter  to  crush  the  Liberals.     The  question  had 
resolved  itself  into  a  simple  one,  a  struggle  between 
the  reactionary  forces  of  the  State  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress  on  the 
other.     All  who  now  opposed  the  Committee  were 
aiding  in  the  Reaction  ;  and  they  must  suffer  the  con- 
sequences of  their  choice. 


Conversation  with  a   Young  Turk  25 

We  asked  what  his  views  were  with  regard  to  the 
late  Vizier,  the  "Grand  Old  Man"  of  Turkey.  Meh- 
met  Bey  was,  I  regret  to  say,  very  bitter  against 
Kiamil,  who  is  the  most  honest  man  in  Turkey,  very 
much  respected  by  every  one,  and  very  kind  to  me 
personally.  Kiamil  Pasha,  he  declared,  had  tried  to 
make  himself  autocratic,  and  he  must  go.  He  had 
chosen  the  wrong  side,  and  become  a  supporter  of  the 
tyrant.  The  English  people  had  been  much  misin- 
formed regarding  the  facts.  The  correspondents  of 
the  leading  newspapers  had  misled  public  opinion, 
whether  through  pure  ignorance  or  through  prejudice. 
He  quoted  one  case  as  specially  characteristic  of  the 
mischievous  errors  which  were  served  up  for  the  public 
every  day  in  the  English  papers.  When  not  long 
ago  Ferid  Pasha,  the  last  Grand  Vizier  of  the  old 
regime  before  the  Constitution  had  been  declared, 
was  appointed  Governor  of  Smyrna,  the  Times  had 
complained  that  Ferid  was  the  leading  Germanophil 
in  Turkey  and  a  bitter  opponent  of  England,  and  that 
the  Young  Turks,  in  permitting  such  an  appointment, 
were  definitely  ranging  themselves  on  the  side  of 
Germany  against  England. 

Mehmet  Bey  maintained  that  such  a  statement  was 
as  foolish  as  it  was  false.  Ferid  Pasha  had  risen  to 
power  under  the  Sultan's  regime  by  German  support, 
because  there  was  no  other  way  to  rise ;  but  he  was 
not  committed  to  approve  of  German  influence  in 
Turkey  when  the  Sultan's  tyranny  was  ended.  Still 
less  was  the  Young  Turkish  party  committed  to 
favour  Germany,  because  it  had  sent  one  of  the  ablest 


26  Sunday,  April  18 

of  Turkish  administrators  to  govern  the  province  of 
Smyrna.  But  the  effect  of  ignorant  statements  of  this 
kind,  persistently  made  in  the  most  official *  and  re- 
presentative of  English  papers,  inevitably  was  to 
force  Ferid  and  the  Young  Turks  over  to  the  other 
side,  by  making  it  clear  to  them  that  English  feeling 
was  hostile  to  their  policy,  and  denied  them  freedom 
of  action  in  the  most  elementary  matters  of  domestic 
government. 

The  Turkish  nation,  said  Mehmet  Bey,  claimed 
full  right  to  choose  at  its  own  discretion  those  persons 
whom  it  considered  best  qualified  to  govern  the 
provinces  of  the  Empire  without  regard  to  foreign 
influence.  It  was  an  unwarrantable  interference  with 
the  internal  affairs  of  a  sovereign  country  to  make 
such  an  appointment  the  ground  of  a  charge  of  un- 
friendliness to  England. 

He  also  mentioned  the  telegram  sent  by  King 
Edward  to  Abd-ul-Hamid  last  autumn,  advising  him 
to  trust  to  Kiamil  Pasha,  and  resented  it  strongly  as  a 
public  and  official  interference  with  the  choice  of  the 
Ministers  of  State,  which  was  an  insult  to  Turkey  and 
had  caused  serious 'harm  to  the  reputation  of  England. 
Not  even  Russia  had  ever  so  openly  and  rudely 
dictated  its  desires  to  little  Bulgaria,  as  England  did 

1  It  is,  as  every  traveller  knows,  impossible  to  make  the  people 
in  other  European  countries  understand  or  believe  that  the  Times 
never  was  and  is  not  an  official  organ.  If  you  tell  them  that 
there  is  no  official  paper  in  England,  they  receive  the  statement 
with  a  polite  smile,  as  one  of  the  usual  fictions  by  which  English 
people  think  to  bamboozle  the  foreigner. 


Conversation  with  a   Young  Turk  27 

in  that  case  to  Turkey.  It  was  a  great  mistake  to 
suppose  that  English  influence  in  Turkey  was  depend- 
ent on  any  one  official,  or  any  set  of  officials ;  it  was 
founded  on  an  old  alliance  before  the  present  Sultan's 
time.  The  Young  Turks  recognised  that  it  was 
Abd-ul-Hamid,  and  not  Turkey,  that  had  been  the 
enemy  of  England ;  and  they  were  not  inclined  to 
make  the  error  that  the  Sultan  had  made.  But  self- 
respect  did  not  permit  them  to  accept  such  dictation, 
or  to  listen  to  criticism  administered  in  such  a  public 
way  before  the  whole  world.  England  did  not 
venture  publicly  to  advise  the  King  of  Italy  or  even 
of  Servia  or  Greece  what  Prime  Minister  he  should 
trust  to.  Why  not  leave  Turkey  to  judge  for  herself, 
or  at  least  be  content  with  secret  diplomatic  advice  ? 

In  the  course  of  conversation  my  wife  mentioned 
that  several  people  had  expressed  astonishment  at 
our  venturing  to  go  to  Constantinople  at  this  time, 
and  that  an  Italian  gentleman  in  Buda-Pesth  had 
strongly  advised  us  not  to  go,  but  that  we  were  far  too 
deeply  interested  to  feel  any  apprehension  of  possible 
danger.  Mehmet  Bey  replied  very  impressively : 
"  Madame,  you  are  quite  right.  There  will  be  no 
danger  to  any  Europeans  who  remain  quietly  in  their 
houses.  Every  precaution  will  be  taken  to  safeguard 
their  lives  and  their  property.  All  is  arranged  with 
a  view  to  that." 

[At  the  time  I  paid  no  attention  to  this  remark, 
regarding  it  as  prompted  merely  by  politeness ;  but 
in  looking  back  afterwards  over  the  development  of 
events  we  recognised  that  it  was  full  of  significance, 


28  Sunday,  April  18 

and  implied  the  existence,  already  at  that  early  stage, 
of  a  carefully  planned  series  of  operations,  in  which 
the  difficulties  were  foreseen  and  provided  for.  Those 
who  read  the  following  diary  will  observe  the  traces 
of  this  plan  appearing  from  time  to  time,  although  at 
the  moment  we  did  not  in  thought  connect  together 
the  various  details  which  indicated  it.] 

But  Mehmet  came  back  always  to  the  same  topic. 
It  was  such  a  profound  blunder  for  England  to  act  as 
if  her  interests  and  influence  in  Turkey  depended  on 
any  one  man,  or  on  barring  out  from  office  any  other 
man.  The  Young  Turks  knew  that  it  was  to  the 
interest  of  England  that  Turkey  should  be  strong  and 
well-governed,  whereas  they  were  not  sure  that  any 
other  Power  in  Europe  did  not  desire  to  keep  Turkey 
weak.  This  was  the  sure  foundation  for  good  feeling 
between  England  and  Turkey. 

We,  of  course,  seized  on  this  admission,  and  argued 
that  the  telegram  and  the  complaint  in  the  Times  were 
both  due  to  anxiety — perhaps  an  over-solicitude — for 
the  benefit  of  Turkey  ;  and  maintained  that  the  people 
of  Great  Britain  were  sincerely  desirous  that  the  re- 
form and  regeneration  of  Turkey  should  be  successful. 
But  it  is  not  my  business  to  set  down  what  we  said, 
but  only  to  state  what  others,  and  Mehmet  Bey  in 
particular,  said  and  felt. 

I  must  say,  in  correction  of  Mehmet  Bey's  account, 
that  in  Constantinople  the  opinion  is  still  held  by  many 
that  the  Sultan  was  not  instrumental  in  fomenting  the 
recent  troubles,  and  that  he  has  really  tried  hard  to 
maintain  the  Constitution.  Time  will  decide.  I  do 


Conversation  with  a   Young  Turk  29 

not  claim  to  know  who  is  right.  Nothing  is  so 
difficult  as  to  tell  what  is  really  happening  in  Con- 
stantinople, except  to  foretell  what  is  going  to  happen 
to-morrow. 

That  the  heated  struggle  between  the  English  and 
the  Germans  for  influence  in  Constantinople  has  much 
impeded  the  establishment  of  peace  and  order  in 
Turkey  there  can  hardly  be  any  question,  and  probably 
no  one  doubts  that  this  is  so.  Which  side  is  to  blame, 
or  whether  both  must  share  the  blame,  or  whether  the 
tide  of  events  was  too  strong  and  swept  both  along  in 
its  course,  I  do  not  pretend  to  judge.  But  it  is  univer- 
sally believed  to  be  the  fact  that  there  has  been  a 
continuous  struggle  for  power  among  the  various 
parties  and  interests,  and  that  the  restoration  of  order 
has  been  sacrificed  in  the  struggle. 

After  all,  the  Sultan  was  the  one  governing  force 
in  the  country,  and  when  that  force  was  suddenly 
stopped  there  was  no  Government  strong  enough  to 
take  its  place.  The  trained  officials  were  almost  all 
of  the  Sultan's  party.  Few  of  the  Young  Turks  had 
ever  had  practical  experience  in  government,  and 
there  was  not  a  sufficient  number  of  officials  to  do  the 
work,  while  the  energy  of  many  of  the  leading  men 
was  absorbed  in  the  struggle  for  power.  The  eastern 
part  of  the  Turkish  Empire  has  been  drifting  into 
anarchy,  and  first  Kurdistan,  now  Cilicia,  is  in  a 
state  practically  of  civil  war.  Whether  the  anarchy 
and  war  may  spread  westwards  depends  largely  on  the 
personal  character  and  administrative  ability  of  the 
governors  of  the  great  central  Anatolian  Provinces, 


30  Sunday,  April  18 

Konia,  Angora  and  Sivas.  Will  they  be  able  to 
stand  the  strain  on  their  powers?  The  future  will 
show  ;  but  the  outlook  is  very  black  at  present.  Had 
Germany  and  England  been  able  to  unite  in  a  common 
policy  for  the  benefit  of  Turkey  the  situation  would 
have  been  alleviated,  and  order  might  have  been 
restored.  But  this  was  not  fated  to  be.  I  have  no 
means  of  knowing  whether  any  attempt  was  made,  or 
any  wish  was  felt,  to  unite.  The  outsider  sees  only 
the  results. 

I  do  not  quote  Mehmet's  views  as  an  unbiassed 
appreciation  of  the  facts,  but  as  being  characteristic  of 
the  party  and  of  the  time.  They  are  the  opinions  of 
a  strong  partisan  in  the  heat  of  a  contest,  which  is 
literally  a  life-or-death  fight ;  and  they  are  certainly 
prejudiced  and  one-sided.  There  is,  of  course,  another 
side,  which  will  doubtless  reveal  itself  as  we  go  on. 
Meanwhile  I  record  what  I  hear  from  the  mouth  of  a 
person  who  is  going  to  play  a  part  in  the  fight.  He 
made  on  us  an  extremely  favourable  impression,  as 
being  for  the  moment  entirely  devoted  to  and  ab- 
sorbed in  a  great  and  a  noble  idea,  and  as  desirous 
that  his  party  should  so  act  as  to  stand  well  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world.  Above  all,  he  seemed  to  have  no 
feeling  against  Great  Britain,  apart  from  the  annoy- 
ance caused  by  the  British  way  of  administering 
advice  and  reproof  like  nauseous  medicine,  whose 
beneficial  effect  depended  on  its  being  given  in  the 
most  nauseating  fashion. 

I  do  not  even  know  whether  the  charge  which  he 
made  against  the  great  English  newspaper  with  re- 


Conversation  with  a   Young  Turk  31 

gard  to  the  appointment  of  Ferid  to  Smyrna  was 
true  or  not.  I  did  not  see  the  article,  and  can  only 
describe  the  effect  produced  on  Turkish  feeling  by 
the  belief  that  those  sentiments  had  been  expressed  in 
the_  paper. 

fl  asked  Mehmet  Bey  about  the  attitude  of  the  ( 
Officers  in  the  army.  He  said  that  all  those  who 
had  risen  from  the  ranks  were  reactionary,  whereas 
those  who  had  passed  through  the  military  schools 
were,  without  exception,  Young  Turks.  This 
sounded  at  the  first  moment  strange  to  me,  until  I 
recollected  what  I  had  heard  before  about  the  system 
of  promotion;  and  he  confirmed  entirely  those  old 
stories.  Promotion  used  to  be  worked  as  part  of  the 
spy-system.  A  soldier  who  sent  information  against 
his  officers,  denouncing  any  signs  of  free  thought  or  of 
discontent  with  the  established  order  of  the  Empire, 
was  rewarded ;  and,  if  he  continued  to  be  useful  as  a 
spy,  he  might  rise  high  in  the  service.  In  fact  this 
grievance  had  much  to  do  in  bringing  about  the 
Sultan's  downfall.  The  officers  lived  in  terror  of 
denunciation ;  there  was  no  chance  of  promotion 
through  faith  or  good  service ;  the  best  men  among 
the  private  soldiers  remained  unrewarded ;  the  clever 
and  unscrupulous  spy  got  all  the  rewards.  Nothing 
more  demoralising  to  discipline  could  be  imagined; 
but  it  gradually  sapped  the  loyalty  of  the  army,  and 
Abd-ul-Hamid's  power  rested  in  Turkey  on  the 
soldiers.  Outside  of  Turkey  the  position  of  Khalif 
was  the  basis  of  his  wide  influence,  but  in  Turkey  that 
dignity,  which  he  was  the  first  Ottoman  Sultan  to  lay 


32  Sunday,  April  18 

any  stress  upon,  exercised  no  influence,  so  far  as  I  could 
judge.  I  never  heard  the  title  applied  to  him  in 
familiar  speech  by  any  of  the  Turks ;  he  was  to  them 
the  Padishah,  not  the  Khalif.  The  Turks  are  a  nation 
of  soldiers,  and  these  soldiers  revere  the  Padishah  as 
the  head  of  the  army.  When  the  devotion  of  the 
army  was  lost  the  Sultan  had  no  firm  support  to  rely 
on.  I  remember  that  in  the  last  days  of  June,  1908, 
a  first-rate  authority  on  Turkey,  who  knows  Turkey 
and  the  Turks  as  he  knows  his  own  name,  said  to  me 
that  he  had  just  heard  from  Macedonia  an  ominous 
report  about  the  existence  of  serious  discontent  in 
the  army,  and  that,  if  the  army  ceased  to  support 
the  Sultan,  his  power  could  not  last.  It  was  about 
two  weeks  later  that  the  public  in  Constantinople  began 
to  hear  the  first  news,  when  a  few  hundred  soldiers 
under  Enver  Bey  openly  raised  the  standard  of  revolt 
at  Resna. 

[In  confirmation  of  Mehmet  Bey's  account,  it  will  be 
mentioned  later  that,  when  the  Army  of  Freedom  was 
forcing  its  way  into  Constantinople,  every  pupil  in  the 
military  schools  and  even  in  the  boys'  high  schools 
volunteered  for  service  with  the  Liberators,  and  also 
that  when  the  great  massacre  planned  for  the  night  of 
the  23rd  of  April  was  talked  about  among  the  Turks, 
the  story  was  that  the  pupils  in  the  Turkish  boys' 
high  schools  were  to  have  been  the  first  victims  ;  these 
facts  and  beliefs  are  mentioned  later.] 

Mehmet  Bey  spoke  very  emphatically  in  praise  of 
the  Balkans  Committee,  a  body  whose  conduct  in  the 
Turkish  question  for  years  has  been  very  much  dis- 


II.— p.  32. 


The  Soldiers  of  Liberty  larking  while  the  train  stops. 


See  p.  48. 


The  Balkans  Committee  33 

cussed  and  often  very  harshly  criticised  by  English 
Turcophiles  and  others  interested  in  the  Eastern  ques- 
tion. He  declared  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  words 
and  acts  of  that  Committee,  the  patriot  Turks  would 
have  been  driven  to  believe  that  England's  sympathies 
were  entirely  on  the  side  of  the  tyrant  and  against  all 
those  who  were  struggling  for  freedom  in  Turkey; 
but  that,  when  they  thought  of  the  Committee,  they 
asked  themselves  whether  the  Times  was  really  an 
accurate  expression  of  English  feeling.  We,  of  course, 
protested  that  in  this  matter  that  was  not  the  case, 
that  there  was  strong  and  general  sympathy  in  Eng- 
land for  the  party  of  Freedom  in  Turkey,  that  the 
Times  must  have  been  misinformed  as  to  the  facts, 
and  in  any  case  was  in  no  sense  a  mouthpiece  of  Great 
Britain,  and  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  we,  though  taking 
a  deep  interest  in  Turkish  matters  and  in  English  opinion 
about  Turkey,  had  not  known  about  this  attitude  on 
the  part  of  the  great  English  newspaper. 

[Mehmet  Bey's  reference  to  the  Balkans  Committee 
was  illuminated  by  an  incident  of  which  I  heard  a 
vague  report  during  the  preceding  winter,  when 
Kiamil  Pasha  was  Grand  Vizier,  and  which  will  be 
found  in  my  diary  of  to-morrow  described  by  a  travel- 
ling acquaintance  in  the  same  train. 

It  may  be  added  that  several  persons  in  Constanti- 
nople, representing  very  different  points  of  view  from 
Mehmet  Bey  and  from  each  other,  said  to  us  that  the 
existence  and  action  of  the  Balkans  Committee  had 
been  a  very  fortunate  thing  for  England,  and  in  the 
revolution  that  followed  was  the  main  support  of 

3 


r 


34  Sunday,  April  18 

English  prestige  with  the  victorious  party.  Numberless 
persons  spoke  about  the  unfortunate  effect  produced 
by  the  articles  in  the  Times,  which  had  evidently  been 
the  subject  of  endless  gossip  and  scandal  in  Constanti- 
nople. I  felt  often  rather  ashamed,  and  still  more 
often  much  relieved,  to  have  to  confess  that  I  had 
never  known  of  the  articles  in  question.  The  whole 
matter  shows  how  much  importance  is  attached  in 
Turkish  circles  to  the  opinions  expressed  in  the  foreign 
press,  and  how  much  harm  may  be  done  by  the  lead- 
ing newspapers  of  Europe  through  unintelligent  and 
harsh  criticism  of  the  internal  affairs  of  other  countries. 
The  leader-writer  sitting  at  his  desk,  working  at  high 
pressure,  and  aiming  at  emphasis  and  telling  effect, 
distributes  blame  all  round  on  foreign  politicians  whom 
he  is  slating,  with  very  insufficient  knowledge  of  the 
conditions  and  difficulties  against  which  they  have  to 
portend. 

[_  The  attitude  of  the  Times  ( I  do  not  know  whether 
expressed  in  its  correspondence  or  its  leaders,  but  I 
think  in  both)  made  an  extraordinarily  deep  impression 
in  Constantinople,yand  was  probably  much  misunder- 
stood, and  interpreted  in  a  sense  and  with  an  emphasis 
that  was  not  intended  by  those  who  were  responsible. 
Owing  to  the  rapid  development  of  events,  words  that 
were  used  in  one  sense  in  London  had  sometimes 
acquired  a  much  more  serious  innuendo  when  they 
were  read  in  Constantinople  four  days  later.  More- 
over, they  were  first  read,  not  in  their  original  form, 
but  as  telegraphed  in  an  abbreviated  version  and  then 
translated  into  French,  Turkish  or  Greek  one  or  two 


Effect  produced  by  the  "  Times"  35 

days  after  they  appeared  in  London,  with  the  strong 
expressions  emphasised  (and  sometimes  probably  dis- 
torted) by  separation  from  their  original  context. 
Moreover,  many  Constantinople  papers  were  strongly 
inclined  to  misrepresent  English  feeling  and  policy ; 
and  they  did  so  not  by  inventing  words  that  were  not 
used — there  was  no  need  for  invention  to  serve  their 
purposes  ;  the  words  used  were  often  quite  serviceable 
to  them — but  by  suppressing  all  that  tended  to  counter- 
act or  qualify  the  effect. 

Still,  after  making  every  allowance  for  unintentional 
error  in  the  reproduction,  and  for  intentional  misrepre- 
sentation of  its  words,  I  must  record  the  opinion  ex- 
pressed to  me  by  many  different  residents,  staunch 
friends  of  England  or  truly  patriotic  Englishmen,  who 
read  the  Times  carefully  as  it  was  delivered  six  times 
a  week  in  Constantinople,  that  the  attitude  of  that 
newspaper  was  ill-advised,  and  productive  of  much 
harm  to  English  reputation  in  Turkey ;  and  that  its 
sudden  and  complete  volte  face  shortly  after  was 
urgently  necessary.] 

Shortly  before  we  reached  Belgrade,  Mehmet  Bey, 
who  had  gone  out  at  a  wayside  station,  came  back 
with  beaming  countenance  and  said  that  the  first 
soldiers  who  had  been  hurried  up  towards  Constanti- 
nople had  occupied  the  fortified  lines  at  Tchatalja, 
which  form  the  extreme  outer  defence  guarding  the 
approach  to  Constantinople,  without  meeting  any 
resistance.  The  guards  had  abandoned  the  position 
without  a  blow,  and  retired  towards  Constantinople. 

Monday,    April    19. — At    Nisch    the    railway   to 


36  Monday,  April  19 

Salonica  diverges  from  the  line  to  Constantinople,  and 
passengers  for  the  former  have  to  change  trains.  I 
was  roused  about  three  in  the  morning  by  the  voice 
of  the  conductor  calling  our  Young  Turk  friend  to 
rise  and  be  ready  to  leave  us  when  the  train  next 
stopped.  I  bade  him  "  good-bye  and  good  luck," 
feeling  the  strongest  wish  and  hope  that  he  would  be 
successful.  [He  entered  Constantinople  with  the  Army 
of  Liberty,  and  I  observed  his  name  mentioned  in  a 
newspaper,  when  he  was  entrusted  with  an  important 
military  duty  soon  after  his  party  came  into  power. 
But  we  never  met  him  again.  Some  months  later, 
we  saw  the  announcement  in  the  English  papers  that 
he  had  returned  to  his  former  post  in  a  European 
capital] 

At  Belgrade  about  midnight  the  room  which  Mehmet 
Bey  and  I  occupied  had  received  an  additional  in- 
mate, who  in  the  morning  turned  out  to  be  an 
American,  familiar  with  Constantinople,  educated  in 
the  United  States  at  a  college  well-known  to  us,  and 
knowing  many  old  friends  of  ours  both  in  his  own 
country  and  at  Constantinople.  He  proved  a  very 
agreeable  and  informing  travelling  companion.  Three 
weeks  ago  he  had  left  Constantinople  to  spend  the 
spring  and  early  summer  in  Italy,  and  thus  to  his 
intense  regret  he  had  been  absent  during  the  recent 
events  in  the  Turkish  capital.  He  had  not  seen  the 
Revolution  of  July,  1908,  but  had  gone  to  Constanti- 
nople as  soon  as  it  happened  and  spent  the  autumn 
and  winter  there,  watching  the  development  of  events. 
Now  again,  like  us,  he  was  hurrying  back  to  see  how 


Grand  Vizier  and  Young  Turks  37 

things  were  progressing.  He  took  the  keen  interest 
of  a  man  of  letters,  an  observer  of  human  nature,  a 
lover  of  freedom,  and  an  American,  in  the  struggle 
between  the  forces  of  Reaction  and  Reform.  He 
had  been  an  enthusiastic  partisan  of  the  Young 
Turkish  party  until  the  quarrel  between  it  and  Kiamil 
Pasha,  when  his  sympathies  went  with  the  latter. 
According  to  his  account,  agreeing  with  all  we  had 
heard  previously  except  from  our  Young  Turkish  friend 
of  yesterday,  Kiamil  had  been  harshly  treated  by 
the  members  of  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Pro- 
gress. Not  merely  the  Committee  as  a  whole, 
but  also  individual  members  almost  irresponsibly  on 
their  own  initiative,  had  attempted  to  order  him  about 
and  to  impose  their  will  on  him. 

Our  informant  told  us  especially  of  one  occasion, 
when  two  members  of  Committee  had  called  on 
Kiamil  one  evening  and  informed  him  that  they  had 
arranged  that  certain  representatives  of  the  English 
Balkans  Committee  who  were  coming  to  Constanti- 
nople should  dine  with  him  on  the  following  evening, 
and  asked  him  to  be  ready  to  receive  them.  Kiamil 
declined  to  accept  the  suggestion,  said  that  he  was 
accustomed  to  invite  his  guests  to  his  house  himself, 
and  that  he  was  engaged  on  the  following  evening. 
Thereupon  the  two  representatives  of  Union  and 
Progress  hurried  off  to  the  Palace  of  Yildiz  to  demand 
that  Kiamil  Pasha  should  be  forthwith  deposed  from 
office.  They  were  informed  that  the  Sultan  had 
already  retired  for  the  night  and  could  not  see  them, 
but  would  hear  a  report  of  the  business  on  which  they 


38  Monday,  April  19 

had  come.  The  report  was  sent  in  brief  and  emphatic 
terms ;  they  wanted  the  immediate  deposition  of  the 
Grand  Vizier.  A  message  was  brought  back  that  the 
Sultan  would  receive  them  on  the  following  morning 
and  hear  their  complaints.  The  Sultan  displayed  all 
his  wonted  adroitness  in  dealing  with  such  a  situation, 
and  ordered  that  a  message  should  be  sent  at  the  same 
time  to  Kiamil  requiring  his  presence  at  the  same  hour 
at  Yildiz  Kiosk. 

Next  morning  the  meeting  of  the  four  must  have 
been  an  interesting  scene  :  the  three  contending  parties 
in  the  State  were  there  present,  the  Committee  of 
Union  and  Progress  represented  by  two  of  its  most 
energetic  members,  the  Liberals  by  their  head  the 
Grand  Vizier  Kiamil,  and  the  Reactionaries  in  the  per- 
son of  the  Sultan  himself.  The  Sultan  heard  the 
complaint  and  the  demand  of  the  two  members  of 
Committee,  who  were  a  little  taken  aback  to  find  that 
Kiamil  was  on  the  ground  ;  and  he  then  asked  whether 
they  had  the  formal  authority  of  the  Committee  for 
their  action.  As  the  Committee  was  not  known  to 
have  met,  this  question  was  a  telling  one ;  but  the 
two  members  replied  that  the  Committee  endorsed  all 
that  they  did.  The  Sultan  replied  that  he  could  not 
dismiss  his  chief  Minister  on  such  a  slight  pretext,  and 
the  audience  ended.  According  to  another  account, 
which  I  heard  later  from  another  informant,  the  Sultan 
suggested  that  the  Englishmen  should  be  invited  to 
tea. 

Such  incidents  as  this  were  fatal  to  the  co-operation 
of  the  reforming  elements  in  the  State.     The  personal 


Grand  Vizier  and  Young  Turks  39 

feelings  of  the  rival  reformers  were  allowed  to  intrude 
into  the  sphere  of  business,  and  the  results  were  fatal. 
The  only  people  who  could  profit  from  the  quarrels 
were  the  Sultan  and  the  Reactionaries  ;  and  it  was  the 
first  duty  of  the  two  reforming  parties,  the  extremists, 
viz.,  the  party  of  Union  and  Progress,  and  the  moder- 
ates, viz.,  the  Liberals,  to  avoid  dissension,  sacrifice 
their  personal  claims,  and  work  together.  In  that 
way  alone  was  salvation  possible. 

While  our  American  informant  was  strongly  in 
favour  of  Kiamil  Pasha  and  indignant  at  the  way  in 
which  he  was  treated  and  dictated  to  (which  certainly 
was  sometimes,  according  to  reports,  very  hasty  and 
inconsiderate)  by  the  Committee,  and,  while  the  exist- 
ence of  such  a  secret,  irresponsible  and  powerful  body, 
claiming  the  right  to  step  in  at  any  moment  and  dictate 
the  policy  of  the  ostensible  Government,  was  danger- 
ous, and  must  in  the  long  run  cease,  yet  I  could  not 
gather  from  my  well-informed  companion  that  the 
Liberals  had  done  their  best  to  avoid  quarrels,  or  had 
been  sufficiently  alive  to  the  inevitable  results  of  their 
action  or  sufficiently  careful  to  avoid  these  results. 
Rather,  the  tendency  of  all  that  he  said  against  the 
Committee  and  in  defence  of  the  Liberals  was  to  pro- 
duce in  my  mind  the  impression  that  the  latter  party 
had  preferred  to  take  all  risks  rather  than  submit  to 
dictation,  even  where  the  dictation  might  have  been  in 
itself  quite  fairly  wise,  and  where  frank  acceptance  of 
the  advice  would  have  tended  to  produce  good  results. 
Moreover,  the  dictation  would  have  remained  unknown 
to  the  world  if  it  had  been  accepted  ;  and  what  was  done 


4O  Monday,  April  19 

in  accordance  with  it  might  have  appeared  to  pro- 
ceed from  the  will  and  initiative  of  Kiamil  and  his 
Ministers. 

As  it  was,  the  result  has  been  to  weaken  Turkey 
step  by  step  and  to  facilitate  the  issue  which  Austria 
and  Germany  have  had  in  mind  for  months  and  years, 
viz.,  the  ultimate  domination  over  or  absorption  of 
Macedonia  and  Anatolia.  It  was,  as  he  declared, 
difficult  to  avoid  the  belief  that  British  policy  during 
the  last  six  months  has  been  admirably  calculated  to 
help  on  the  process  which  Austro-German  statesman- 
ship is  aiming  at,  viz.,  the  disintegration  of  Turkey 
with  its  inevitable  result,  which  is  that  the  powers  con- 
trolling the  railways  must  control  the  country,  especially 
as  they  have  their  overwhelming  forces  closest  to  the 
scene  of  action. 

I  was  reading  in  the  train  the  Neue  Freie  Presse, 
and  expressed  to  my  companion  my  admiration  of  the 
extremely  acute,  full  and  well-informed  reports  and  dis- 
cussions which  it  contained  of  the  situation  at  Con- 
stantinople. The  writers  were  apparently  watching 
quietly  and  observantly  and  with  much  pleasure  the 
process  by  which  the  victim  was  exhausting  itself  and 
making  the  intervention  of  Europe,  i.e.,  of  Austro- 
Germany,  inevitable.  He  agreed  and  said  that  the 
Corriere  delta  Sera  of  Milan  was  also  kept  extremely 
well  informed  by  an  admirable  correspondent ;  and 
that  he  always  carefully  studied  its  Turkish  reports. 
He  contrasted  the  knowledge  and  skill  shown  in  these 
and  some  other  Central  European  papers  with  the 
superficiality  and  ignorance  of  most  of  the  English 


The  Foreign  Press  on   Turkish  Affairs       41 

newspapers l  (there  being  some  exceptions,  though  most 
took  only  the  smallest  possible  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  Turkey) ;  and  declared  that  the  English  papers 
served  up  to  the  public  little  more  than  the  information 
doled  out  in  measured  and  carefully  mixed  doses  by 
the  British  Embassy  for  its  own  purposes.  How  far 
this  is  the  case  I  do  not  presume  even  to  venture  the 
humblest  opinion  :  I  have  no  means  of  knowing ;  but 
I  state  the  opinion  of  a  witness,  who  showed  no  pre- 
judice against  England,  and  who  personally  strongly 
sympathised  with  the  party  of  Kiamil  and  the  Liberals, 
which  the  English  papers  have  as  a  rule  been  backing 
and  encouraging  to  the  utmost.  Far  be  it  from  me 
to  presume  to  judge  of  such  great  matters  and  such 
great  men  and  powers. 

My  companion  said  that  correspondents  were,  as  a 
rule,  far  too  much  dependent  on  their  Embassies,  and 
sent  home  the  news  that  the  Embassy  officials  desired 
to  make  public.  He  declared  that  the  correspondents 
were  helpless  in  the  matter.  Few  of  the  English 
correspondents  had  such  command  of  French  that  the 
language  was  a  really  useful  instrument  to  them  in 
acquiring  news.  When  they  knew  French,  it  was  in 
the  style  that  passes  muster  in  England.  Still  fewer 
knew  Turkish  or  Greek.  Hence  they  were  deprived 
of  all  means  of  acquiring  knowledge  direct  from  native 
sources,  and  could  not  very  well  get  on  without  the 
help  of  the  Embassy.  The  best  informed,  as  a  rule, 
were  those  who  got  their  information  from  old  resi- 

1 1  speak  as  a  reporter  of  another  person's  ideas,  and  not  as 
expressing  my  own  opinions. 


42  Monday,  April  19 

dents  in  the  city.  If  they  did  not  make  themselves 
agreeable  to  their  Embassy,  it  could  shut  them  out 
from  many  pieces  of  useful  information ;  and  as  they 
were  situated  the  wisest  and  the  only  safe  course  for 
them  was  to  give  the  official  view.  Hence  he  ex- 
plained the  remarkable  uniformity  of  the  news  that 
reached  the  English  public — not  to  lay  any  stress  on 
its  monotony  and  uninstructive  character.  No  Em- 
bassy wants  to  inform  the  public  of  the  facts.  Every 
Embassy  desires  to  keep  the  real  facts  private  until  it 
is  perfectly  safe  to  state  them,  and  to  put  before  the 
public  the  view  of  the  facts  which  it  thinks  useful. 
Nothing,  he  said,  could  be  more  dangerous  for  a 
correspondent  in  Constantinople  than  to  acquire  a 
reputation  for  publishing  facts  inconvenient  to  the 
authorities  of  his  own  country.  I  mentioned  to  my 
companion  what  I  have  often  heard,  that,  while  the 
Turkish  officials  in  Constantinople  almost  all  speak 
French,  and  communicate  with  the  European  world 
in  that  tongue,  it  is  a  very  different  thing  to  speak  to 
one  in  Turkish.  You  find  him  infinitely  more  open 
and  responsive  when  he  is  speaking  Turkish ;  he  is 
always  on  his  guard  when  he  is  using  French.  He 
believed  that  this  was  quite  true,  though  he  himself 
knew  only  a  little  Turkish  and  could  not  speak  from 
actual  experience,  as  some  of  my  informants  could. 

I  was  specially  impressed  by  the  business-like  and 
masterly  character  of  a  long  article  in  the  Neue  Freie 
Presse  of  the  1 8th,  estimating  the  military  possibilities 
of  the  situation.  The  writer  pointed  out  that,  for  the 
Young  Turks,  the  prime  consideration  was  speed 


Austro-German  Forecast  of  the  Campaign     43 

and  vigour  of  action.  An  immediate  attack  with  a 
small  army  was  far  more  effective  and  far  more  likely 
to  succeed,  than  a  deliberate,  slow  collecting  of  forces 
in  order  that  the  attack  might  be  made  with  over- 
whelming numbers.  He  then  proceeded  to  estimate 
the  time  in  which  such  an  attack  with  a  small  army  of 
about  15,000  men  could  be  prepared  and  executed. 
He  took  into  account  the  carrying  power  of  the  single- 
track  railway,  the  small  amount  of  rolling-stock  which 
it  possessed,  the  probably  wide-scattered  position  of 
the  rolling-stock  at  many  parts  of  the  long  line,  the 
distance  of  the  stations  from  one  another  (about  15 
to  20  kilometres),  and  the  very  small  number  of 
sidings  at  the  stations.  All  these  conditions  inter- 
posed great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  a  rapid  march.  If 
everything  went  right,  if  no  mistake  or  unlucky  chance 
occurred,  if  every  waggon  was  available  exactly  when 
and  where  it  was  required,  then,  assuming  that  the 
advance  began  on  i6th  April,  the  whole  15,000  men 
might  be  put  in  position  before  Constantinople  on  the 
night  of  2  ist  April,  and  real  military  operations  could 
begin  on  the  22nd.  This  was  the  theoretical  pos- 
sibility, the  fastest  transport  of  which  the  line  was 
capable  in  the  most  perfectly  favourable  conditions. 
The  practical  possibility  was  distinctly  slower  than 
this.  The  theoretical  statement  made  no  allowance 
for  the  friction,  the  unpreparedness  and  the  chances  of 
the  transport.  Turkish  railways  and  Turkish  officials 
have  never  been  distinguished  for  power  of  working 
up  to  the  highest  possibilities.  As  to  the  theoreti- 
cal alternative  of  transport  by  sea  from  one  or  other 


44  Monday,  April  19 

of  the  harbours  touched  by  the  railway,  that  hardly 
entered  practically  into  the  case  ;  ships  were  not  there 
and  some  of  the  harbours  were  only  open  roadsteads. 
Some  small  help  might  be  derived  from  sea-transport, 
but  it  could  only  be  an  auxiliary. 

The  military  situation,  said  this  writer,  was  gov- 
erned further  by  two  serious  considerations  :  ( i)  What 
would  the  army  in  Adrianople  do  ?  What  part  would 
it  take  in  the  war?  This  was  a  question  of  the 
first  importance.  (2)  Even  assuming  that  the  Salonica 
troops  were  able  to  place  themselves  in  a  position  to  act 
effectively  on  Constantinople,  they  could  not  venture 
to  make  an  assault  on  the  city.  It  was  necessary  for 
them  to  avoid  a  battle  in  the  streets,  for,  apart  from 
other  difficulties,  that  would  inevitably  provoke  inter- 
vention by  the  European  Powers,  and  this  must,  at 
all  costs,  be  avoided  in  the  interest  of  the  Young 
Turks.  The  most  difficult  and  delicate  part  of  their 
task  would  only  begin  when  their  troops  were  placed 
in  a  fighting  position  before  Constantinople.  The 
article  concluded  with  expressing  the  opinion  that,  so 
far  as  appearances  went,  the  chances  of  the  Young 
Turks  were  good. 

[I  repeat  the  statements  of  this  ancient  article  now, 
because  subsequent  events  showed  that  it  touched 
briefly  on  the  fundamental  and  governing  factors  in 
the  situation.  Moreover,  when  I  mentioned  it  to  some 
well-informed  people  in  Constantinople,  they  expressed 
the  opinion  that  it  emanated  from  General  von  der 
Goltz,  one  of  the  highest  officers  in  the  German  army, 
and  of  all  Germans  the  one  who  knew  best  and  did 


Austro-German  Forecast  of  the  Campaign     45 

most  to  control  the  relations  of  Germany  with  Turkey, 
in  conjunction  with  the  extremely  able  German  Am- 
bassador, Marschall  von  Bieberstein.  It  was  (so  I  was 
informed)  quite  an  accepted  fact  that  General  von 
der  Goltz  frequently  expressed  his  mind  on  Turkish 
matters  through  the  Neue  Freie  Presse.  This  article 
evidently  was  composed  two  days  or  so  before  it 
appeared ;  and  if  we  can  assume  that  it  was  written 
not  without  inspiration  from  the  general,  it  throws 
much  light  on  the  attitude  of  Germany  and  Austria 
towards  the  situation.  Their  officers  warned  the  Young 
Turks  of  the  difficulties,  prepared  them  for  over- 
coming them  and  encouraged  them  to  the  attempt. 
The  relation  with  the  Adrianople  army  was  arranged. 
Several  very  important  persons  were  brought  to  re- 
cognise which  was  to  be  the  winning  side,  and  their 
adhesion  was  decisive.  The  ablest  general  in  Turkey, 
Mahmud  Shefket  Pasha,  whose  ability  had  been 
praised  in  the  highest  terms  by  General  von  der 
Goltz,  gave  to  the  Army  of  Freedom  the  benefit  of 
his  military  experience  and  skill.  He  was  the  man 
who  could  carry  out  well  the  arrangements  necessary 
for  the  performance  of  this  serious  and  difficult  opera- 
tion. A  number  of  the  Turkish  officers  were  trained 
in  Germany,  and  were  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Ger- 
mans. People  in  Constantinople  talked  about  Germany 
financing  the  Army  of  Liberty,  but  she  probably  did 
more  efficient  service  by  helping  the  leaders  to  recognise 
and  to  meet  the  difficulties  of  the  situation. 

It  was,   therefore,    not   without   good   reason  that 
everybody    in    Constantinople    recognised    that    the 


46  Monday,  April  19 

Young  Turk  victory  was  the  triumph  of  Germany. 
Germany  knew  where  to  act  effectively  and  whom  to 
support.  Great  Britain  has  for  a  long  time  confined 
herself  to  giving  unpalatable  advice,  which  had  no 
chance  of  being  taken,  and  which  frequently  only 
injured  those  whom  it  was  intended  to  help. 

It  will  appear  in  the  events  of  the  following  days 
how  completely  the  situation  was  governed  by  fear  or 
hope  of  European  intervention.  The  only  plan  of  de- 
fence on  the  Sultan's  side  was  based  on  the  bringing 
about  of  a  European  occupation  of  the  city.  We  had 
heard  yesterday  the  confident  assurance  given  by  a 
Young  Turk  that  his  party  were  taking  steps  to  pre- 
serve order  in  the  city  during  the  siege,  and  to  avert 
any  need  for  European  interference.  The  issue 
showed  how  well  the  Young  Turks  made  their  plans 
for  the  purpose.] 

We  spent  the  day  jogging  along  in  the  leisurely 
style  of  the  Bulgarian  and  Turkish  Railway,  through 
Sofia  and  Philippopolis  to  the  frontier  of  Turkey  at 
the  station  of  Mahmud  Pasha  and  thence  during  the 
night  to  Adrianople.  There  was  nothing  to  indicate 
the  slightest  difference  from  ordinary  journeys,  no 
sign  of  excitement  or  unusual  interest  in  events.  The 
customs  examination  at  the  Turkish  frontier,  never 
troublesome  for  travellers  in  the  sleeping-car,  was 
markedly  slight ;  and  quite  unusual  deference  was 
shown  to  the  letter  from  the  Turkish  Embassy  stating 
that  our  luggage  might  be  passed  without  examination 
or  inquiry.  I  do  not  know  whether  this  marked 
deference  was  the  reason  why  the  large  envelope  in 


With  the  Army  of  Liberty  47 

which  I  carried  passports,  letters  of  introduction, 
travelling  orders  and  other  official  authorisations  dis- 
appeared from  the  pocket  of  my  jacket  at  some  time 
during  the  following  twenty-four  hours  (probably 
during  the  night)  and  could  not  be  recovered  in  spite 
of  all  endeavours.1 

Tuesday,  April  20. — We  were  due  this  morning  in 
Constantinople  at  7. 50 ;  but  towards  6  o'clock  we  were 
standing  quietly  in  a  small  wayside  station  five  hours' 
run  from  Constantinople  ;  and  we  had  the  opportunity 
of  dressing  with  comfort  and  observing  at  leisure  the 
features  of  nature  and  the  handiwork  of  man.  The 
latter  consisted,  at  this  and  the  following  stations,  mainly 
in  fragmentary,  ragged,  old  uniforms  worn  by  groups 
of  soldiers,  largely  volunteers,  who  were  waiting  for 
means  of  transport  to  join  the  army  of  the  Committee 
of  Union  and  Progress  before  Constantinople.  The 
telegraph  and  all  transport  were  under  control  of  the 
Committee.  No  one  on  the  train  could  learn  when 
we  might  be  permitted  to  move  on,  or  whether  we 
should  be  allowed  to  enter  Constantinople.  Occasion- 
ally, permission  was  granted  to  go  on  to  the  next 
station ;  and,  as  such  permission  might  come  at  any 
moment,  it  was  never  safe  to  walk  more  than  a  very 
short  distance  from  the  train.  The  stock  of  food  on 
the  train  was  exhausted,  and  the  bread  in  the  solitary 
shop  which  was  situated  beside  each  station  had  all 
been  bought  or  commandeered  (I  believe  bought)  by 

1  It  was  sent  to  the  Embassy  a  few  days  later,  with  all  its  con- 
tents intact,  said  to  have  been  found  in  my  room  ;  but  the  attend- 
ant and  we  all  searched  the  room  thoroughly. 


4$  Tuesday,  April  20 

the  soldiers  ;  but  we  found  some  excellent  fresh  cheese 
in  a  shop,  and  with  this  and  biscuits  and  tea  (of  which 
we  had  brought  a  stock  with  us  in  case  of  detention) 
we  passed  an  interesting  day,  observing  the  soldiers, 
conversing  with  some  of  them,  and  taking  an  occa- 
sional photograph  of  a  group  (copies  of  which  we 
promised  to  send  to  several  of  them  at  their  urgent 
request).  The  soldiers  or  volunteers  were  in  excellent 
spirits  ;  some  were  sleeping  quietly,  a  few  were  reading 
extracts  from  Turkish  newspapers  to  groups  gathered 
round  them,  others  were  talking,  laughing  and  playing 
jokes  on  one  another.  All  were  most  courteous  and 
pleasant  to  us  ;  and  the  whole  scene  was  like  a  summer 
picnic,  with  a  bad  train-service,  but  without  the  slight- 
est grumbling  on  the  part  of  those  who  were  detained. 
One  feeling  was  expressed  by  all — they  were  going  to 
make  sure  work  this  time — Baba  Hamid  bitdi — 
"  Father  Hamid  is  done  for". 

We  saw  only  two  trains  going  up  to  the  front ;  one 
passed  us,  and  the  other  dodged  along  with  us,  passing 
us  at  one  station,  but  finally  left  behind  by  us.  Each 
contained  about  twenty-five  to  thirty  trucks ;  but  as 
there  were  a  good  many  horses,  and  the  waggons 
were  not  at  all  crowded,  I  should  estimate  that  each 
train  carried  only  at  the  outside  about  600  men.  We 
stood  a  very  long  time  at  Tchatalja,  the  station  out- 
side the  fortified  line,  running  from  the  Sea  of  Marmora 
to  the  Black  Sea,  for  the  defence  of  Constantinople. 
As  we  had  heard  from  the  Young  Turk  already  on 
the  1 8th,  these  lines  were  in  the  hands  of  the  army  of 
Union  and  Progress.  A  troop  train  stood  beside  us 


III.— p.  48. 


Soldiers  of  the  Army  of  Liberty  at  the  Railway  Station  beside  the 
Lines  of  Tchatalja.     (Volunteers  wear  White  Caps.) 


With  the  Army  of  Liberty  49 

at  this  station  most  of  the  time.  Only  one  empty 
train  passed  us  in  the  opposite  direction  during  the 
day,  going  back  to  bring  up  more  soldiers ;  but  many 
empty  waggons  were  standing  in  sidings,  apparently 
waiting  for  engines  to  take  them  back  for  more  troops. 
There  was  no  sign  of  haste  or  hurry ;  but  many 
signs  of  determination  and  good-humour.  From  the 
train  at  this  station  we  could  see  nothing  of  the  lines, 
nor  of  the  soldiers  who  occupied  them.  In  one 
carriage  we  saw  a  close-shut  compartment,  guarded 
by  soldiers  with  fixed  bayonets,  whom  we  photo- 
graphed. It  was  said  that  two  Turkish  priests  were 
prisoners  inside,  and  that  they  had  come  out  to  per- 
suade and  to  bribe  the  soldiers  of  Freedom.  [What 
became  of  them  we  never  learned ;  but  the  rule 
of  the  army  was  that  every  opponent  was  tried  at 
a  later  stage  when  the  victory  had  been  gained,  and 
none  were  shot  as  spies  at  the  moment.  Moreover, 
the  policy  that  directed  all  the  operations  was  to  avoid 
harsh  measures,  and  hold  out  every  encouragement  to 
all  the  Turks  in  Constantinople  to  acquiesce  quietly, 
to  sit  at  peace,  to  fear  nothing  and  to  wait  on  the  Will 
of  Allah.] 

One  young  volunteer,  a  clerk  in  a  Government 
office  at  Serres  (not  far  from  Salonica),  gave  us  a 
good  deal  of  information.  His  talk  was  all  of  Hurriet 
(Liberty);  the  army  of  Liberty  was  concentrating  at 
the  lines,  40  kilometres  from  Constantinople,  and  as 
soon  as  it  was  ready  it  was  going  down  to  deal  with 
the  Sultan  ;  agents  of  the  Sultan  had  been  trying  to 
bribe  the  soldiers,  but  all  his  efforts  were  useless; 

4 


50  Tuesday,  April  20 

"Father  Hamid  was  done  for".  The  little  white 
caps  of  the  volunteers  were  very  roughly  made  ;  the 
boycott  of  the  Austrian  trade  had  evidently  been  very 
effective  ;  Austrians  used  to  make  every  fez  and  other 
cap  of  felt  worn  in  Turkey,  but  now  their  products 
are  refused  by  the  people.  After  we  had  returned  to 
our  carriage,  a  man  came  to  us  without  his  gun,  eager 
to  be  photographed ;  and  we  got  out  again.  He 
snatched  a  gun  from  one  of  the  soldiers,  and  tried  to 
fix  the  bayonet,  but  could  not  do  so  :  this  little  inci- 
dent shows  how  raw  and  untrained  many  of  these 
eager  volunteers  are. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  after  we  had  been  standing 
several  hours  at  Tchatalja,  the  Orient  Express,  with 
its  through  carriages  from  Paris  and  Ostend,  which 
should  have  arrived  in  Constantinople  about  eleven  this 
forenoon,  came  up,  and  was  tacked  on  behind  our 
train.  Soon  after  we  were  permitted  to  go  on,  leaving 
a  troop  train  standing  at  Tchatalja.  It  appears  that 
the  troops  do  not  detrain  here,  but  at  the  next  station, 
Hadem-Keui.  When  we  reached  that  place  we  saw 
two  battalions  of  soldiers,  probably  numbering  al- 
together about  800  to  1,200  men,  so  far  as  an  inex- 
perienced eye  could  estimate  at  such  a  distance. 
They  were  marching  off  to  the  left,  apparently  to  take 
up  a  position  in  front  of  the  lines,  of  which  we  could  now 
see  some  of  the  earthworks  not  far  behind,  though  we 
could  observe  no  soldiers  at  those  which  were  visible. 
The  battalions  were  already  at  some  distance  ;  and,  as 
the  station  and  other  buildings  made  it  impossible  to 
photograph  them  from  the  train,  I  risked  the  chance 


IV.— P.  50. 


Osman,  clerk  at  SLTFCS,  Volunteer  in  the  Army  of  Liberty. 

See  p.  49. 


With  the  Army  of  Liberty  51 

that  the  train  might  race  on  with  headlong  speed  to 
Constantinople,  and,  taking  my  wife's  camera  and 
instructions,  ran  out  some  distance  to  get  a  nearer 
view  and  photograph.  Here  and  everywhere  we  were 
freely  allowed  to  make  photographs  of  anybody  and 
anything.  No  one  impeded  us — all  rather  courted 
publicity ;  they  were  all  for  "  Liberty,"  and  had  nothing 
to  hide. 

Hitherto  we  have  always  traversed  the  country 
between  Adrianople  and  Constantinople  during  the 
night.  To-day  for  the  first  time  we  saw  the  last  fifty 
miles  of  the  way,  and  were  much  struck  with  its  de- 
solation. Throughout  the  day  there  were  within 
sight  of  the  railway,  as  a  rule,  no  dwellings,  no  culti- 
vation, nothing  but  a  wilderness  of  scrub,  until  we 
came  to  San  Stefano,  which  is  within  the  fortified 
lines.  It  looks  as  if  the  approaches  to  the  great  city 
were  intentionally  left  bare  and  unfit  to  support  an 
advancing  enemy. 

We  were  by  this  time  very  tired  of  the  monotonous 
diet  of  tea  and  biscuits.  The  single  loaf  had  long 
ceased  to  exist,  except  as  a  fragrant  memory  to  our- 
selves and  to  many  station  dogs.  Our  thoughts  had 
already  turned  to  the  dining-car  of  the  Orient  Express  ; 
but  our  conductor  told  us  he  had  learned  that  there 
also  everything  had  been  consumed  in  the  long  deten- 
tion. After  a  time,  however,  I  resolved  to  try  if  there 
was  absolutely  nothing  to  be  got  in  the  dining-car. 
There  was  no  internal  communication  between  the 
two  trains ;  but,  as  we  continued  to  stand  at  Hadem- 
Keui  in  the  patient  old  fashion,  I  went  along  to  inquire 


52  Tuesday,  April  20 

if  the  attendants  would  sell  us  anything,  and  was 
prepared  to  purchase  at  any  price  what  remnants  they 
might  still  have.  It  turned  out  that  the  Express  had 
plenty  of  food,  as  there  were  hardly  any  passengers  ; 
and  the  rulers  of  the  dining-car  welcomed  all  guests. 
The  four  of  us  forthwith  repaired  thither,  and  had  a 
respectable  and  most  welcome  meal. 

After  about  two  hours'  detention  at  Hadem-Keui 
our  train  got  a  pass  through  to  Constantinople,  and  we 
reached  the  Sirkedji  station  in  Stamboul  about  fifteen 
and  a  half  hours  late.  Often  have  I  felt  much  more 
annoyance  at  fifteen  minutes'  detention  in  the  over- 
civilised  countries  of  the  West.  The  day  had  been 
one  of  much  enjoyment. 

[In  the  matter  of  detention  we  were  much  more 
fortunate  than  our  friend  the  Hulme  Scholar,  who, 
leaving  Berlin  by  the  train  of  the  following  day,  was 
turned  out  at  Adrianople  about  midnight,  had  to  wait 
there  twenty-four  hours,  and  finally  reached  Stamboul 
about  thirty-eight  hours  late,  in  the  only  train  that  was 
permitted  to  pass  for  several  days.  He  had,  at  least, 
the  gain  of  seeing  Adrianople  in  war-time.] 

In  Constantinople  there  was  not  a  sign  of  disturb- 
ance. The  want  of  passports  gave  us  no  trouble. 
The  officials  wrote  down  my  name  and  hotel,  and 
passed  us  without  a  word  on  our  explanation  that  the 
passports  had  been  lost  since  we  crossed  the  frontier. 
In  the  streets,  however,  there  was  quite  unusual  quiet- 
ness. Except  on  the  Galata  Bridge,  I  saw  no  human 
being  out  of  doors  until  we  reached  the  hotel  high  up 
in  Pera.  My  friends  in  a  cab  five  minutes  ahead  of 


Arrival  in  Constantinople  53 

me,  however,  saw  two  patrols  of  soldiers.  Generally, 
at  that  hour — 10.40  to  1 1  P.M. — the  steep  street  leading 
up  from  Galata  to  Pera  is  crowded. 

Wednesday,  April  21. — The  Hotel  Bristol,  where 
we  have  taken  refuge,  is  beginning  to  fill  up  again. 
Last  week  there  was  a  universal  flight.  On  the 
1 3th  there  were  twenty-four  guests,  and  next  day 
there  was  not  one  left.  The  shops  in  Pera  are  all 
open ;  but  in  Stamboul  most  of  them  are  said  to  be 
closed.  Business  is  generally  at  a  standstill.  There 
is  very  great  poverty  and  distress  owing  to  the  want 
of  work  and  the  almost  total  disappearance  of  tourists  ; 
and  it  is  said  that  there  is  a  great  amount  of  property 
and  valuables  for  sale  in  the  Bazaars,  as  people  are 
selling  their  household  valuables  to  provide  food. 

A  friend  tells  me  that  at  the  British  Embassy  the 
opinion  prevails  that  danger  is  now  over  in  the  city 
and  that  things  will  pass  off  quietly ;  and  some  of  the 
best-informed  Turks  of  great  experience  and  high 
position  consider  that  the  army  of  investment  cannot 
and  will  not  do  anything  serious,  for  it  cannot  possibly 
dream  of  attacking  the  Turkish  capital,  nor  even  of 
firing  on  the  Palace  of  Yildiz,  either  of  which  acts 
would  be  too  great  an  outrage  on  Turkish  feeling, 
and  one  which  no  Turk  will  deliberately  and  in  cold 
blood  venture  to  commit.  The  anticipation  of  these 
official  Turks  is  that  in  two  or  three  days  an  arrange- 
ment will  be  fixed  up,  and  that  things  will  go  on  as 
before  the  Mutiny,  except  that  there  will  be  a  change 
made  by  the  elimination  of  a  certain  number  of  the 
Liberals.  But,  after  seeing  the  volunteers  along  the 


54  Wednesday,  April  21 

railway  line,  and  listening  to  their  sentiments  about 
the  Sultan,  we  cannot  feel  any  confidence  in  this  opti- 
mistic view.  Yet  these  optimists  may  be  right ;  they 
are  certainly  people  who  know  Turkey  well ;  and  it 
is  quite  true  that  excitement  flares  up  and  dies  out 
again  very  easily  among  the  people  of  these  lands. 
Yet  I  should  be  surprised  if  it  dies  out  in  this  case 
within  a  few  days.  There  are  too  many  lives  at  stake. 
The  Army  of  Liberty  cannot  venture  to  retire  quietly. 
The  men  might  be  quieted  down  easily  by  some  small 
concessions  ;  but  the  officers  are  in  a  different  position. 
They  have  the  choice  between  victory  and  exile  ;  the 
forces  on  the  side  of  the  Faith  are  enormous,  far  out- 
weighing the  power  of  the  insurgent  army,  if  they  are 
once  collected.  No  arrangement  which  was  patched 
up  could  permanently  guarantee  the  career  and  the 
safety  of  the  insurgent  officers ;  and,  to  judge  from 
what  Mehmet  Bey  told  us,  they  fully  recognise  this 
fact.  As  the  Neue  Preie  Presse  writer  maintained, 
vigorous  and  instant  action  alone  can  save  the  Young 
Turks  in  the  present  crisis.  As  Mehmet  Bey  de- 
clared, they  and  the  Sultan  cannot  permanently  exist 
in  freedom  and  authority — one  side  or  other  must  go. 

The  appearance  of  the  city  is  described  by  my  wife 
in  the  following  paragraphs. 

"  On  the  morning  after  our  arrival,  my  husband 
having  business  to  attend  to,  my  daughter  and  I  set 
out  from  the  hotel  to  see  for  ourselves  whatever  was 
to  be  seen  in  Pera.  Pera,  be  it  said  for  the  benefit  of 
those  readers  who  do  not  already  know,  is  the  '  Euro- 
pean '  quarter  of  Constantinople  as  distinguished  from 


Aspect  of  Per  a  55 


Stamboul,  the  Turkish  part,  although  both  are  on  the 
European  side  of  the  Bosphorus,  separated  from  each 
other  by  the  Golden  Horn,  a  narrow  creek  that  runs 
inland  for  about  four  miles,  and  is  so  deep  even  along 
shore  as  to  be  one  of  the  finest  harbours  in  the  world. 
Two  bridges  cross  the  Golden  Horn,  one  at  its 
mouth — Galata  Bridge,  generally  called  simply  'the 
Bridge' — the  other  some  distance  inland.  The 
European  Embassies  and  Consulates  and  hotels,  as 
well  as  a  large  proportion  of  the  business  houses  and 
shops  of  Europeans,  are  in  Pera  and  Galata  (as  the 
lower  part  of  Pera  is  called).  Many  wealthy  Moham- 
medans also  reside  in  Pera. 

"Not  a  sign  of  'revolution'  could  we  perceive. 
Past  the  gates  of  the  British  Embassy  we  went  (they 
were  open  and  unguarded),  and  along  the  Grande  Rue, 
following  the  tramway  line  for  some  distance.  This 
is  the  street  in  which  are  the  principal  shops.  They 
were  all  open.  There  were  plenty  of  people  in  the 
streets ;  the  tramway  cars  were  running  as  usual ; 
carriages  and  carts  seemed  as  numerous  and  as  busy 
as  ever.  We  passed  the  Tash-Kishla  (Stone  Bar- 
racks), which  a  few  days  later  was  the  scene  of  the 
most  sanguinary  fighting  that  took  place  between  the 
opposing  forces,  the  troops  that  had  led  the  revolt 
being  quartered  there.  On  this  lovely  April  morning 
the  barracks  had  a  deserted  look,  and  the  big  open 
space  in  front,  where  the  soldiers  are  drilled,  and 
which  is  separated  from  the  street  by  a  low  wall  sur- 
mounted by  an  iron  railing,  was  as  empty  as  if  there 
were  not  a  soldier  or  a  gun  within  a  hundred  miles. 


56  Wednesday,  April  21 

We  crossed  the  end  of  this  *  waste  place '  (it  is  nothing 
else),  climbing  upwards  over  lumpy  uneven  ground, 
till  from  the  top  of  a  grassy  hill  we  had  a  view  of  the 
Golden  Horn  glittering  in  the  sunshine.     The  valley 
below  us  was  covered  by  a  network  of  narrow  streets 
and  hovels,  interspersed  by  trees,  too  near   for   the 
'enchantment'  that  distance  might  have  lent  to  its 
sordid,  poor  and  dirty  aspect,  but  peaceful  enough 
with  the  women  washing  clothes  or  doing  other  work, 
and  children  playing  about  the  doors.     We  made  our 
way  back  to  the  hotel  by  a  different  route,  and  then, 
having  some  purchases  to  make,  I  went  on  alone  to 
a  large  store  in  the  busier  and  less  aristocratic  Galata, 
not  far  from  the  British  Post  Office.     The  assistant 
who  served  me  was  a  young  man  with  whom  I  had 
talked  on  former  occasions,  and  this  time  I  found  him 
eager  to  enter  into  conversation  on  the  all-absorbing 
subject.     He  was  quite  convinced  that  the   trouble 
had  only  begun,  and  that  it  was  a  fanatical  movement 
against  the  Christians.      He  repeated  what  the  porter 
at  the  hotel  had  told  us *  of  the  killing  of  260  *  people ' — 
he  did  not  say  *  officers ' — and  added  that  among  them 
were  several  Europeans  and  *  two  Americans  of  good 
position,'  but  he  did  not  know  their  names.     News 
had  come,  he  said,  of  terrible  massacres  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  especially  Adana.     Everywhere 
the  Turks  were  rising  and  killing  the  Christians,  and 
it  would  not  be  possible  for  people  to  travel  in  the 
interior — which  I  told  him  we  intended  to  do  as  usual. 

1  See  p.  60. 


Feeling  in  Pera  57 


On  the  contrary,  everybody  who  could  was  leaving 
the  country.  He  told  me  also  that  his  father  was 
English,  but  had  been  long  settled  in  Constantinople, 
and  that  he  himself  had  been  born  and  brought  up  in 
Stamboul.  His  father,  he  said,  had  a  shop  in  Stam- 
boul,  but  it  had  been  closed  since  the  trouble  began 
on  the  1 3th ;  nearly  all  the  shops  there  were  closed, 
and  no  business  of  any  kind  was  being  done,  for  no- 
body knew  when  the  next  outbreak  would  take  place. 
I  was  the  only  customer  in  the  store  at  the  moment, 
and  two  or  three  of  the  other  shopmen  listened  to 
what  we  were  saying  and  confirmed  what  my  infor- 
mant related.  I  was  struck  by  the  strained  expression 
of  all  their  faces,  and  asked  my  young  friend,  'Are 
you  frightened  ? '  He  drew  himself  up  with  dignity, 
and  answered  briefly,  '  I  am  an  Englishman ! ' ' 

I  called  at  the  Embassy  in  the  morning  to  present 
an  introduction  from  the  Foreign  Office,  and  saw 
a  Secretary  (the  Ambassador  himself  being  too  busy). 
He  told  me,  just  as  I  expected,  that  it  was  impossible 
to  get  permission  arranged  for  travelling  until  some 
permanent  authority  was  established ;  and  that  the 
anxiety  and  insecurity  in  the  interior  of  Asiatic  Turkey 
was  so  great  that  travellers  ought  to  postpone  or 
abandon  all  thought  of  a  journey  in  the  inner  country. 
The  news  of  the  massacres  at  Adana  was  of  the 
worst  character ;  and  it  was  not  known  yet  whether 
the  report  that  the  British  Consul  at  Mersina,  Major 
Doughty  Wylie,  a  good  friend  of  ours  in  past  time, 
had  been  fatally  wounded  was  true,  or  whether  he 
was  only  slightly  wounded.  Whether  or  how  far  the 


58  Wednesday,  April  21 

massacres  might  spread  no  one  could  tell.  In  Con- 
stantinople itself  things  were  quiet.  Only  once  had 
there  been  any  apprehension.  That  was  on  the  night 
when  the  demands  of  the  mutineers  were  granted ; 
then  firing  began  everywhere ;  and  for  the  time  ap- 
pearances were  really  rather  alarming,  until  it  became 
known  that  it  was  only  &/eu  dejoie.  Everybody  tells 
us  of  this  extraordinary  scene.  It  is  said  that  actually 
a  million  and  more  of  cartridges  were  fired  into  the 
air.  Boys  got  hold  of  loaded  Winchester  rifles,  and 
fired  every  cartridge  in  rapid  succession.  The  scene 
was  extraordinary.  Accidents  occurred  from  falling 
bullets  fired  in  this  way.  One  old  friend  told  me 
that  beside  the  entrance  to  the  Pera  tunnel  (the  rail- 
way up  the  steep  hill)  he  had  seen  a  man  drop  dead 
with  a  bullet  that  came  down  on  his  head  and  passed 
through  the  brain. 

The  common  people,  however,  give  far  more  serious 
accounts ;  and  they  are  the  ones  that  have  to  suffer. 
Those  that  are  connected  with  the  Embassies  are  safe, 
whatever  happens.  Even  before  we  could  get  away  to 
bed  last  night  the  Greek  waiters  in  the  Hotel  Bristol 
gave  us  a  long  account  of  the  apprehensions  and  dread 
with  which  every  one  was  filled.  No  one  knew  what 
might  happen,  but  every  one  feared  that  no  issue  was 
possible  without  serious  troubles,  whoever  gained  the 
upper  hand.  If  the  Sultan  re-established  his  power,  the 
last  state  of  Turkey  would  be  ten  times  worse  than  the 
first.  If  he  had  maintained  himself  before  by  espionage, 
public  massacres  on  a  large  scale,  and  secret  execution 
of  all  who  were  reported  to  be  dangerous,  what  would 


Anxiety  of  the  Inhabitants  59 

he  do  now,  when  he  came  back  to  power  after  the  party 
of  Liberty  had  for  a  time  reduced  him  to  impotence? 
He  would  know  more  certainly  than  ever  that  there 
was  no  safety  for  him  except  in  getting  rid  of  all  who 
cherished  any  free  ideas,  i.e.,  of  every  one  who  was 
not  a  fanatical  and  uncompromising  adherent  of  Islam. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Army  of  Liberty  entered 
Constantinople,  there  must  be  much  fighting,  and  the 
peaceful  population  would  suffer  terribly  during  the 
siege  and  the  assault.  The  soldiers  in  the  city  were 
very  determined.  They  felt  that  they  had  no  mercy 
to  expect.  Especially  the  regiment  from  Salonica, 
which  had  been  brought  to  Constantinople  to  support 
the  Constitution,  and  which  had  joined  in  the  Mutiny, 
would  fight  to  the  last,  because  its  soldiers  felt  they 
had  sinned  beyond  all  others  against  the  cause  of 
Liberty,  and  believed  that  they  would  all  be  shot  if 
they  surrendered. 

For  the  ordinary  people  of  Constantinople  it  was 
only  a  choice  of  evils,  but  of  the  evils  the  restoration 
of  despotism  was  the  worse,  for  it  meant  a  long  period 
of  anxiety  and  depression  instead  of  a  short  time  of 
danger,  followed  by  safety  if  one  escaped  the  bullets. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  great  anxiety  began  to 
spread  owing  to  a  rumour  that  the  navy  had  declared 
in  favour  of  the  Sultan,  and  that  the  guns  of  the  ships 
commanded  the  approach  to  Constantinople,  and  could 
prevent  any  effective  action  by  the  Army  of  Liberty. 
Towards  evening  this  anxiety  was  intensified.  People 
are  reckoning  up  the  strong  forces  of  the  Sultan.  All 
Anatolia  lies  behind  him  ;  and  there  are  not  believed 


60  Wednesday,  April  21 

to  be  200  Young  Turks  in  the  whole  of  that  great 
country,  where  every  Turk  is  a  good  soldier,  who 
knows  no  fear  and  will  go  anywhere  and  face  any 
danger  with  imperturbable  coolness. 

They  talk  of  the  readiness  with  which  the  cry  of 
danger  to  "the  Faith"  is  believed,  and  tell  that 
emissaries  are  everywhere  preaching  the  doctrine 
and  rousing  the  people  to  murder  all  Christians.1  The 
most  faithful  troops  of  Liberty,  the  Salonica  soldiers 
in  Constantinople,  were  seduced  from  the  side  of  the 
Young  Turks  as  soon  as  that  cry  was  raised.  If 
even  they  were  tempted  over  to  the  Sultan's  side, 
what  Turk  can  be  trusted  to  fight  against  the  Padishah 
and  the  Faith,  except  a  few  officers  and  returned 
exiles  ?  Moreover,  the  officers  are  few.  Some  were 
killed  by  the  mutineers.  Two  hundred  and  sixty, 
as  the  waiter  at  the  hotel  told  us  last  night,  were 
taken  to  Yildiz,  and  all  killed  there.  The  waiter 
described  the  260  who  were  murdered  at  Yildiz  as 
colonellais  (speaking  in  Greek).  The  story  is  widely 
current,  and  some  good  authorities  say  they  believe 
it  has  foundation  ;  but  others  declare  that  it  is  a  pure 
invention  and  that  the  Sultan  has  had  no  share  in 
fomenting  the  Mutiny.  There  is  a  Pasha  of  high  rank 
in  the  palace  whose  sole  duty  long  has  been  to  drown 
quietly  in  the  Bosphorus  at  night  the  Sultan's  enemies 
and  victims.2 

People  feel  that  the  "  Young  Turks "  had  moved 

1  [This  was  entirely  confirmed  in  our  own  experience  later.] 

2  [He  was  condemned  and  executed  later  in  the  year  on  this 
charge.] 


Anxiety  of  the  Inhabitants  61 

too  fast  in  their  attempt  to  introduce  rigid  discipline 
into  the  army.  The  General  in  Command  of  the 
First  Army  Corps  (which  is  stationed  at  Constanti- 
nople) issued  an  order  that  prayers  must  give  way  to 
military  duties,  and  that  the  duties  must  be  performed 
before  any  prayers  could  be  permitted.  But  that 
meant  that  the  hour  of  prayer  must  often  be  allowed 
to  pass  unobserved. 

I  have  often  noticed  that  prayers  form  a  most  use- 
ful instrument  of  obstruction.  You  tell  a  man  to  do 
something  he  does  not  wish  to  do,  and  he  forthwith 
sets  up  a  stick  in  the  ground  towards  Mecca  and 
proceeds  to  pray  before  it.  I  remember  once  in  a 
wretched  Anatolian  guest-house,  when  a  very  filthy 
and  objectionable  Turk  tried  to  take  up  his  quarters 
there,  and  our  servants  ordered  him  out,  as  there  was 
a  lady  in  the  chamber,  he  took  up  his  position  before  a 
staff  and  began  to  say  his  prayers  ;  luckily  we  had  an 
Albanian  Moslem  servant  who  was  careless  of  religious 
duties,  and  he  bundled  out  the  man  and  his  staff  very 
quickly.  On  board  the  ships  of  war,  as  I  am  told, 
prayers  are  persistently  made  the  excuse  by  maling- 
erers for  shirking  all  irksome  duties. 

The  whole  situation  is  dangerous,  and  the  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  those  who  want  to  introduce  strict  dis- 
cipline into  Turkey  are  very  great.  At  the  present 
moment  people  are  estimating  them,  and  sadly 
declaring  that  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress 
is  trying  the  dangerous  experiment  of  de-Mohammed- 
anising  the  government  of  a  Mohammedan  country. 
Can  it  be  successful  ?  All  these  considerations  make 


62  Thursday,  April  22 

people  afraid  that  the  Sultan  may  after  all  prove  too 
strong.  If  he  can  retain  in  his  allegiance  the  palace 
garrison,  the  city  may  be  given  up  to  anarchy  in  case 
the  Army  of  Liberty  should  venture  to  assault  the 
palace.  The  mob  of  Stamboul  would  be  free  to  rob 
as  they  pleased  while  the  soldiers  were  fighting ;  and 
there  would  be  a  massacre  of  Christians-  and  a  general 
looting  of  property.  Such  were  the  latest  speculations 
when  we  went  to  sleep. 

Thursday,  April  22. — After  the  depression  and 
gloom  of  last  night,  to-day  has  turned  out  far  more 
cheerful.  During  the  forenoon  some  vessels  were 
observed  out  in  the  Sea  of  Marmora  ;  and  soon  it 
became  known  that  the  fleet  had  abandoned  its  com- 
manding position,  and  sailed  out  into  the  Sea  of 
Marmora  to  practise  nautical  manoeuvres.  It  is 
under  the  command  of  an  Englishman,  Admiral 
Gamble.  This  looks  like  a  direct  confutation  of  the 
absurd  rumours  that  the  English  were  supporting  the 
Sultan,  for  it  practically  means  that  his  cause  is  ruined. 
[It  had,  however,  no  effect  in  checking  those  rumours, 
which  were  persistently  propagated  in  social  circles, 
and  fomented  by  the  newspapers.] 

Towards  evening  the  report  spread  that  the  ships  are 
going  to  San  Stefano  (beside  the  lines  occupied  by 
the  Army  of  Liberty )  in  order  to  co-operate  with  the 
investing  forces. 

The  party  of  Union  and  Progress  has  now  on  its 
side  every  one  who  is  not  prepared  to  be  a  Reaction- 
ary ;  and  it  is  supported  by  all  the  vast  mass  of  dis- 
content with  the  horrors  of  the  Sultan's  regime,  with 


Stamboul  in   Time  of  Siege  63 

the  espionage  and  the  secret  murders  by  which  that 
regime  was  maintained.  The  most  absurd  rumours 
prevail  connecting  innocent  Liberals  with  the  out- 
break ;  and  even  the  British  Embassy  is  declared  to 
have  regarded  it  with  favour  and  to  have  fomented  it. 
Nothing  could  be  more  ridiculous,  but  also  nothing 
could  be  more  dangerous  and  lamentable,  than  these 
rumours. 

I  did  not  go  out  in  the  morning  as  I  had  work  in 
hand.  My  wife's  account  of  a  day  in  the  streets  is 
given. 

"  To-day,  as  nothing  further  had  happened,  we  deter- 
mined to  go  sight-seeing  in  Stamboul — my  daughter, 
another  young  lady  and  I.  My  husband  had  more 
serious  affairs  to  attend  to.  Such  frivolous  gadding 
about  was,  in  the  circumstances,  not  in  accordance 
with  the  opinion  or  advice  of  our  friends,  but  my 
daughter  had  hitherto  seen  little  of  Constantinople, 
and  another  opportunity  might  not  occur  during  our 
present  visit.  Besides  we  had  an  intense  curiosity  to 
see  things  for  ourselves,  and  the  remote  possibility  of 
adventure  appealed  to,  rather  than  deterred,  us. 

"  The  Bridge  was  thronged  (as  it  always  is)  with 
representatives — seemingly — of  all  the  various  races 
that  inhabit  the  city,  and  vehicles  of  divers  sorts.  A 
new  feature  to  us  was  the  numbers  of  boys  selling 
newspapers  which  everybody  seemed  to  be  buying 
and  reading.  This  has  only  been  done  since  the 
Constitution  came  into  being,  which  happened  just 
after  we  left  the  country  in  July  last  year.  Soldiers 
were  conspicuously  numerous,  but  they  were  idling, 


64  Thursday,  April  22 

not  on  duty.  Scores  of  passengers  were  ceaselessly 
arriving  or  departing  by  the  steamers  that  ply  up  and 
down  the  Bosphorus,  and  which  have  their  landing- 
stages  along  the  Bridge.  Everything,  in  fact,  ap- 
peared to  be  in  its  normal  condition.  Only  when  you 
scrutinised  the  faces  as  they  passed  you  were  impressed 

>y  the  tense  expression  in  many  of  them,  and  every 
feye  that  met  yours  seemed  to  ask  a  silent  question. 

"  We  walked  to  the  end  of  the  Bridge,  where  the 
toll-keepers  in  ghostly  white  garments  exact  a  small 
payment  from  those  who  enter,  not  from  those  who 
depart,  and,  hiring  a  carriage  from  among  a  number 
that  were  waiting,  drove  off  to  the  Bible  House. 
The  Bible  House  represents  both  the  American  and 
the  British  Bible  Societies,  and  it  is  also  the  centre  of 
administration  of  the  American  Board  of  Missions  in 
Asia  Minor.  If  authentic  news  of  the  missions,  or  of 
the  districts  in  which  they  are,  is  wanted,  the  Bible 
House  is  the  place  to  apply  to.  If  there  is  news  at  all, 
it  is  known  there.  They  have  an  arrangement  that, 
when  anything  of  importance  happens  at  any  of  the  sta- 
tions— for  example  trouble  between  Turks  and  Chris- 
tians, massacres  or  threatening  of  massacres — word  is 
telegraphed  at  once  to  the  Bible  House  in  Constanti- 
nople. We  have  friends  at  many  of  the  missions, 
and  were  anxious  to  know  about  them.  The  news 
from  Adana  was  that  600  people  had  been  killed 
there,  including  two  American  missionaries.  This 
was  evidently  what  my  young  friend  in  Galata  had 
referred  to  yesterday  :  the  accounts  of  different  events 
had  got  mixed  in  his  mind.  One  of  these  mission- 


Stamboul  in  time  of  Siege  65 

aries  was  the  young  son-in-law  of  our  old  friend  Dr. 
Christie  of  Tarsus,  the  other  was  an  older  man  and  a 
widower.  The  Annual  Congress  of  the  Protestant 
Armenian  Church  was  taking  place  at  Adana,  we  were 
told,  when  the  trouble  began,  and  twenty-two  native 
Armenian  pastors  had  been  massacred.  This  was  only 
the  beginning  of  the  massacres  there.  Afterwards 
many  thousands  were  killed  and  the  whole  district  laid 
waste.  From  Marash  the  news  was  'All  well,' 
which  meant  that  there  had  been  trouble  there,  but 
it  was  over  and  the  mission  safe.  No  word  from 
Kaisari  meant  that  in  that  place  nothing  serious  had 
occurred.  There  had  been  in  Constantinople  rumours 
of  massacre  at  all  three  places. 

"The  official  whom  we  saw  at  the  Bible  House 
advised  us  to  be  very  careful  in  our  exploration  of 
Stamboul,  and  especially  not  to  attempt  to  see  any 
of  the  mosques,  as  there  was  possible  danger  from 
the  fanaticism  of  the  Turks. 

"  In  the  bazaars  there  seemed  to  be  little  doing.  In 
many  parts  the  shops  that  contained  valuable  wares 
had  been  emptied  of  almost  all  their  contents,  and  the 
shopkeepers,  when  they  were  present — which  was 
not  always  the  case — as  a  rule  permitted  us  to  pass  in 
silence.  Usually  the  visitor  is  assailed  with  invitations 
at  least  to  inspect  the  goods.  In  the  places  where 
gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones  are  to  be  bought, 
some  of  the  shops  were  closely  shuttered  ;  but  far  the 
most  were  open  and  absolutely  empty.  One  or  two 
had  the  door  locked  and  the  window  unshuttered, 
allowing  a  few  paltry  articles  to  be  seen,  perhaps 

5 


66  Thursday,  April  22 

as  a  sort  of  douceur  to  possible  marauders.  Be- 
sides ourselves  there  appeared  to  be  not  a  single 
stranger  visiting  the  place.  Certainly  we  saw  none 
during  the  several  hours  we  spent  wandering  about. 
But  the  thoroughfares  of  the  bazaars  were  as 
crowded  with  Stambouliotes  as  usual.  Before  leav- 
ing we  lunched  in  a  little  kiosk  on  excellent  Turkish 
fare.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  bazaars  the  shops  ap- 
peared to  be  all  open,  and  itinerant  vendors  were 
displaying  their  wares  on  trays  and  tables  in  the 
open  streets  according  to  their  wont.  This  quarter 
of  the  city  is,  I  think,  purely  Mohammedan,  but  not 
the  faintest  sign  of  antagonism  or  ill-will  was  shown 
towards  the  giaours.  On  the  contrary,  wherever 
we  went  we  were  received  with  *  nods  and  becks  and 
wreathed  smiles ' — notably  in  the  little  Turkish  caf6 
in  which  we  sat  and  drank  coffee  and  ate  'lokma,'  a 
kind  of  dough-nut,  served  with  honey. 

"There  seemed  to  be  a  denser  crowd  than  usual  in 
front  of  the  Yeni  Valideh  Mosque,  which  is  not  far 
from  the  Bridge,  and  the  high  broad  flight  of  steps 
that  leads  to  the  door  was  covered  with  people.  We 
had  not  as  yet  tried  to  enter  any  mosque,  and  the 
Yeni  Valideh  is  one  of  the  handsomest  and  most  inter- 
esting. We  looked  at  the  crowd.  It  was  a  perfectly 
orderly  and  peaceful  one.  In  fact  it  was  probably 
there  merely  because  it  had  nothing  else  to  do.  We 
were  just  at  the  foot  of  the  steps,  and  as  I  glanced  up 
I  caught  the  eye  of  an  amiable-looking  Turk  who  was 
contemplating  us  as  he  lent  lazily  over  the  balustrade 
at  the  top.  I  wormed  my  way  up  to  within  speaking 


Stamboul  in  time  of  Siege  67 

distance  and  inquired,  '  Is  it  forbidden  to  look  in  at 
the  door  ? '  Putting  the  tips  of  his  fingers  to  his  fore- 
head with  a  polite  gesture,  he  answered  emphatically, 
1  It  is  not  forbidden '.  We  intended  only  to  look  inside, 
for  it  was  the  afternoon  hour  of  prayer ;  but  as  soon 
as  we  raised  the  heavy  curtain  that  hung  before  the 
door,  a  youth  came  hurrying  forward  with  slippers  for 
us  to  put  over  our  shoes,  and  bade  us  enter.  The 
floor  was  covered  with  Turks  praying,  but  they 
showed  no  sign  of  resenting  our  presence  or  of  inter- 
fering with  our  inspection  of  the  sacred  building. 
The  youth  who  had  brought  us  in  said  there  was  no 
charge  for  admission,  and  gratefully  accepted  a  very 
modest  baksheesh.  In  recent  years,  before  the  advent 
of  the  Constitution,  a  regular  charge  was  made  for 
admission  to  the  mosques — five  piastres  each  person — 
and  even  then  visitors  were  treated  anything  but 
graciously  at  some  places. 

11  Encouraged  by  our  success  here,  we  determined 
to  try  our  luck  at  St.  Sophia.  A  tramway  line  goes 
there  from  the  Bridge.  On  taking  our  places  in  the 
car  we  found  already  seated  a  Greek  gentleman,  one 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  the  city ;  and,  as  one 
of  us  was  acquainted  with  him,  we  immediately  began 
to  discuss  the  situation.  He  was,  he  said,  quite  sure 
that  the  whole  affair  was  at  an  end.  It  had  only 
been  one  of  those  incidents  with  which  Constantinople 
was,  unfortunately,  too  familiar.  I  told  him  that  we 
had  seen  the  Macedonian  Army  on  its  way  to  Con- 
stantinople, that  they  must  be  now  outside  the  walls, 
and  that  we  had  been  told  by  a  Young  Turk  leader 


68  Thursday,  April  22 

that  the  Young  Turks  were  resolved  to  put  an  end 
once  for  all  to  any  possibility  of  a  return  to  the  former 
state  of  things.  But  he  only  repeated  his  statement : 
4  The  incident  was  at  an  end.  The  Young  Turks 
would  do  nothing.  Everything  would  just  go  on  as 
before.'  I  am  not  at  all  certain  that  he  was  not 
merely  talking  like  this  in  order  to  reassure  our  timid 
female  minds.  If  so,  it  was  certainly  kind  of  him.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  the  look  in  his  eyes  rather  contra- 
dicted his  confident  prognostications. 

"  St.  Sophia,  like  the  other  mosque,  was  open  to  us 
free,  and  the  officials  in  charge  were  politeness  itself. 
We  congratulated  ourselves  on  the  day's  work,  feeling 
that  we  had  made  our  hay  while  the  sun  shone,  and 
turned  our  thoughts  and  steps  towards  Pera,  where 
we  were  to  finish  the  day  with  some  necessary  shop- 
ping. This  brought  us  into  personal  contact  with 
various  people,  and  everywhere  we  found  anxiety  and 
the  anticipation  of  evil.  Some  of  the  shops  were 
opened  and  closed  several  times  a  day,  according  to 
the  news  that  reached  the  owners  from  time  to  time. 
One  man,  a  photographer,  had  died  of  fright." 

Before  we  have  been  two  days  in  Constantinople  I 
have  heard  on  all  hands  much  talk  about  the  Ikdam 
(with  its  French  edition,  the  Ind^pendant\  once  the 
leading  Liberal  paper,  now  practically  the  only  one, 
and  about  its  two  editors,  or  rather  editor-proprietor 
and  acting  editor.  It  was  the  most  influential  and 
the  most  skilfully  conducted  paper  in  Constantinople 
(as  I  was  told),  and  had  a  circulation  of  30,000.  The 
proprietor  fled  from  the  city  some  days  ago.  The 


Talk  with  a   Turkish  Editor  69 

acting  editor  has  stayed  and  conducted  the  paper  ;  but 
it  is  said  that  his  life  is  in  danger,  and  that  he  cannot 
venture  to  remain  any  longer.  This  indicates  that 
the  situation  in  the  city  is  very  strange  and  compli- 
cated. The  Liberals  are  said  to  be  allied  with  the 
Sultan  ;  the  soldiers,  who  could  do  what  they  please 
in  Constantinople  (since  there  is  no  power  that  could 
stand  for  a  moment  against  them),  are  entirely  devoted 
to  the  Sultan ;  and  yet  the  editors  of  the  one  news- 
paper which  boldly  champions  the  Liberal  cause,  the 
most  influential  and  widely  circulated  in  the  city,  dare 
not  live  there.  This  seems  very  perplexing.  There 
must  be  more  under  the  surface  than  appears  openly. 
I  therefore  gladly  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity 
to  lunch  in  company  with  the  editor,  hoping  to  learn 
something  about  his  character  (which  is  so  much 
discussed)  and  his  views  regarding  the  present  situa- 
tion. From  several  well-informed  authorities  I  have 
heard  a  very  favourable  account  of  him ;  his  paper  is 
said  to  have  been  very  moderate  in  tone  and  very 
friendly  to  England ;  and  this  favourable  expectation 
was  confirmed  by  his  personal  appearance,  which  is 
frank  and  candid.  He  spoke  with  perfect  calmness 
and  detachment  about  his  position,  just  as  if  it  were 
another's  and  not  his  own.  He  declared  that  the 
whole  matter  was  already  arranged,  i.e.,  as  I  under- 
stood, between  the  Young  Turk  leaders  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  ostensible  masters  of  Constantinople  on 
the  other.  The  Army  of  Liberty  would  march  in 
on  Saturday ;  and  with  a  few  changes  in  the  official 
world  all  would  go  on  as  before.  The  obvious  in- 


70  Thursday,  April  22 

nuendo  was  that  the  real  war  was  not  between  the 
Sultan  and  the  Young  Turks,  but  between  the  Young 
Turks  and  the  Liberals.  The  latter  were  already  for 
the  most  part  in  retirement,  but  those  who  still  stood 
prominently  before  the  public,  like  the  editors  of  the 
Ikdam,  were  to  be  driven  into  flight. 

He  said  that  he  had  been  threatened  several  times 
with- assassination,  that  he  was  dogged  by  men  with 
revolvers,  and  that  he  had  vainly  appealed  for  protec- 
tion to  the  Chief  of  Police,  who  replied  that  the  police 
were  powerless  to  protect  him,  and  that  his  only  safety 
lay  in  his  own  hands,  i.e.,  in  retiring  from  the  danger. 
He  declared  that  the  intention  of  his  enemies  was, 
not  to  murder  him,  but  to  drive  him  into  voluntary 
exile.  They  were,  however,  ready  to  proceed  to  the 
other  alternative  if  he  did  not  retire  of  his  own  accord. 
The  resolution  was  to  get  rid  of  him  at  all  costs  and 
destroy  the  Ikdam,  the  solitary  Liberal  and  Anglophile 
newspaper,  leaving  the  Germanophile  Press  in  sole 
command  of  the  public  ear. 

I  do  not,  of  course,  guarantee  the  truth  of  his 
account  of  the  situation  ;  I  simply  report  what  he  said, 
as  expressing  one  point  of  view  in  this  complicated 
situation.  [As  things  turned  out,  his  prophecy  that 
the  Army  of  Liberty  would  enter  the  city  on  Satur- 
day was  exactly  fulfilled.  It  was  about  4  A.M.  on  that 
day  when  we  first  heard  the  big  guns,  though  parts  of 
the  city  had  been  occupied  hours  before.] 

He  went  on  board  the  French  steamer  privately  by 
the  seaside,  and  an  agent  of  the  police  watched  him 
go  on  board,  and  then  departed.  So  much  is  certain  ; 


Talk  with  a   Turkish  Editor  71 

and  this  shows  that  part  at  least  of  his  estimate  of  the 
facts  was  correct.  It  was  his  absence  and  not  his 
death  that  was  desired.  The  wish  was  not  to  bring 
him  formally  to  trial,  but  rather  to  make  him  condemn 
himself  by  going  into  exile. 

The  interpretation  of  the  facts  which  his  account 
pointed  towards  was  that  the  Liberals  were  not 
protected  or  regarded  as  friendly  by  the  Sultan  and 
the  police  ;  and  that  he  by  his  independent  attitude 
had  become  the  object  of  universal  hatred,  except 
from  the  English  (who  had  ceased  to  count  as  a  factor 
in  the  game  at  Constantinople).  He  suggested  this 
very  skilfully  and  delicately,  merely  stating  facts,  and 
leaving  us  to  draw  the  inference  for  ourselves. 

The  conversation  turned  on  the  Sultan,  as  every 
conversation  in  Turkey  always  does  sooner  or  later. 
The  editor  remarked  that  Abd-ul-Hamid  was  the 
great  unknown  and  unknowable  personage ;  even 
those  who  had  the  best  means  of  learning  have  never 
been  able  to  gauge  his  character,  or  to  feel  any  con- 
fidence in  their  own  judgment  about  him  or  about  the 
most*  elementary  facts  regarding  him.  "Is  he  a 
coward,  or  the  bravest  of  men  ?  Is  he  a  hopeless 
invalid,  or  is  he  in  good  health?  Is  he  crouching  in 
abject  terror  within  the  palace  at  Yildiz,  sheltered  be- 
hind the  guns  with  which  all  the  approaches  are 
defended,  or  is  he  working  manfully  and  energetically 
to  defend  his  power  ?  No  one  can  judge ;  and  I  do 
not  know."  So  said  the  editor  ;  and  if  such  was  the 
opinion  of  a  man  who  has  been  closely  observing  the 
politics  of  his  own  country  for  many  years,  how  is  a 


72  Thursday,  April  22 

foreign  tourist  to  judge  ?  But  it  is  usually  the  foreign- 
ers, who  know  least,  that  are  the  most  cocksure  of  their 
knowledge  about  him. 

[Here  one  may  conveniently  finish  the  story  of  his 
fate.  After  Yildiz  was  captured  there  were  found,  or 
said  to  be  found,  various  secret  reports  (Djournals  as 
they  are  called)  sent  in  by  him  to  the  Sultan.  Some 
had  been  sent  in  shortly  before  the  insurrection  of 
July,  1908  ;  they  gave  information  about  the  secret 
conspiracy  in  Macedonia,  and  revealed  the  names  of 
some  of  the  leaders.  He  was  at  that  time  an  exile ; 
but  as  the  reward  of  a  useful  spy  he  was  nominated  to 
a  consulship  by  the  Sultan.  Others  were  dated  shortly 
before  the  Mutiny  of  I3th  April,  and  were  also  directed 
against  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress, 
urging  the  Sultan  to  take  action.  He  has  declared 
that  these  reports  are  forgeries  ;  and  really  it  is  difficult 
to  believe  that  any  sane  man  in  his  position  could  be 
such  a  fool  as  to  write  the  later  documents.  Now  he 
certainly  was  no  fool.  If  some  of  the  reports  are 
forged,  the  fact  casts  suspicion  on  the  others.  He  was 
tried  in  absence  and  condemned  to  perpetual  exile. 
The  real  truth  as  to  the  Djournals  is  not  known,  for 
they  have  not  been  scrutinised  by  persons  bent  solely 
on  discovering  the  real  facts.  Hereafter,  more  evi- 
dence may  come  to  light,  and  prove  or  disprove  his 
guilt.  Whether  the  nomination  to  a  consulship  by  the 
Sultan  (which  would  be  a  damning  fact)  was  true  or 
not,  I  cannot  say.  If  it  was  true,  the  revolution  of 
July  prevented  it  from  coming  into  force;  and  what 
evidence  there  was  for  the  statement  (as  made  in  the 


V.-P.  72. 


Prison  of  Agents  of  Abd-ul-Hamid  at  Tchatalja  :  Soldier  with  fixed 
bayonet  keeping  guard. 

See  p.  49. 


Talk  with  a   Turkish  Editor  73 

Constantinople  newspapers)  I  am  unable  to  say.  The 
editor  in  chief  and  proprietor  of  the  Ikdam  was  ac- 
quitted on  his  trial  (also  in  absence),  and  permitted  to 
return  to  Turkey. 

This  anticipatory  statement  of  subsequent  events 
makes  the  narrative  in  the  diary  more  intelligible.  If 
the  principal  editor  was  innocent,  the  Ikdam  can- 
not have  been  very  guilty ;  and  any  guilt  must  have 
been  confined  to  the  second  editor,  with  whom  we  had 
the  conversation  above  described.  But  the  news- 
paper was,  of  course,  ruined  by  his  enforced  flight ; 
and  there  is  certainly  considerable  prima  facie  prob- 
ability in  his  statement  that  the  suppression  of  the 
paper  was  the  object  of  the  whole  proceeding.] 

The  real  state  of  the  case  remains  as  obscure  as 
ever.  Assume  that  the  editor's  story  is  true  so  far, 
and  that  an  arrangement  has  been  come  to.1  One 
cannot  suppose,  as  the  editor  seemed  to  suggest,  that 
the  Sultan  is  a  party  to  this  agreement.  After  what 
I  saw  and  heard  on  the  railway  I  cannot  for  a 
moment  believe  that  the  Young  Turks  would  seriously 
make  peace  with  him,  though  they  might  conceivably 
delude  him  by  secret  negotiations.  But  what  seems 
highly  probable  is  that  many  of  the  officials  and 
ministers  foresee  the  triumph  of  the  Army  of  Liberty, 
supported  by  the  Germans  ;  and  that  they  have  already 
made  their  terms  of  peace,  and  will  quietly  acquiesce 
in  the  entrance  of  the  Salonica  troops.  In  that  case 
the  Sultan,  who  has  so  often  cheated  and  deluded 

1  [Subsequent  events  strongly  confirmed,  and  one  may  fairly  say 
demonstrated,  that  this  was  so.] 


74  Thursday,  April  22 

others,  will  himself  perish  (as  so  many  Oriental  despots 
have  fallen)  through  the  same  arts  by  which  he  main- 
tained his  tyranny.  A  fitting  retribution  ! 

It  seems,  however,  quite  certain  that  the  Sultan  is 
trying  to  make  terms  with  the  Committee  of  Union 
and  Progress,  and  that  he  is  selling  his  own  associates 
and  agents  to  buy  safety  for  himself.  The  evening 
papers  contain  a  list  of  persons  proscribed  as  foment ers 
of  the  outbreak  on  I3th  April  ;  among  them  is  the 
name  of  the  acting  editor  of  the  Ikdam,  so  that  he 
was  only  just  in  time  to  get  away.  It  is  stated  that 
543  are  proscribed,  but  only  the  names  of  thirty-five 
or  so  are  printed,  some  being  Liberals,  others  being 
friends  and  associates  of  the  Sultan ;  and  it  is  stated 
that  this  list  as  published  is  furnished  on  the  information 
of  the  Sultan  himself,  who  had  denounced  them  to  the 
Committee. 

The  impression  made  upon  some  very  judicious 
and  well-informed  observers  is  that  the  recent  troubles 
were  originally  started  by  some  of  the  Liberals,  but 
that  the  agitation  soon  passed  beyond  their  control, 
and  went  much  farther  than  its  originators  wished  or 
dreamed  of.  The  Reactionaries,  the  priests  in  collu- 
sion probably  with  the  Sultan,  took  advantage  of  the 
opportunity,  and  the  mutiny  of  the  soldiers  was  stirred 
up  as  a  religious  demonstration  against  all  Reform. 
The  moderate  and  sane  members  of  the  Liberal  party, 
and  especially  Kiamil  Pasha,  had  no  hand  in  this  and 
no  knowledge  of  it ;  but  all  will  have  to  pay  for  it. 
Kiamil,  who  personally  is  respected  and  who  is  very 
old,  is  not  likely  to  be  attacked  ;  but  lesser  and  younger 


Bargaining  among  the  Leaders  75 

Liberals,  innocent  and  guilty  alike,  will  suffer.  The 
party  played  with  fire  and  is  getting  badly  burned. 

In  the  evening  a  rumour  prevails  that  Parliament 
has  met  at  San  Stefano  and  decreed  that  the  Sultan 
must  abdicate.  The  saying  goes  about  that  he  is  mad  ; 
this  is  said  to  be  the  recognised  preliminary  to  the 
legal  and  religious  declaration  that  the  throne  is  vacant, 
as  no  mad  Sultan  is  permitted  to  reign. 

Friday,  April  23. — The  report  that  Parliament 
had  decreed  the  deposition  of  the  Sultan  is  not  con- 
firmed by  this  morning's  papers  ;  but  it  is  thought  that 
the  proceedings  point  to  that  as  being  informally  deter- 
mined. It  is  confidently  said  that  his  brother  Reshad 
Effendi  has  been  approached,  and  has  agreed  to  accept 
the  throne  ;  and  the  rumour  is  that  the  new  Sultan's 
title  is  to  be  Mohammed  V.1  It  is  said  that  the  soldiers 
of  the  palace  garrison  are  demoralised  and  are  laying 
down  their  arms.  If  that  is  so,  there  will  be  no  con- 
test and  a  peaceful  victory. 

The  report  is  spread  that  the  Sultan  offered  to  give 
up  the  whole  of  the  Macedonian  Provinces  to  Austria 
and  Germany  on  condition  that  those  Powers  allowed 
him  to  retain  his  sovereignty  ;  such  a  report,  if  believed 
among  the  populace,  would  alienate  from  him  even 
the  fanatical  Mohammedans  ;  and  it  is  probably  spread 
by  his  opponents  to  gain  that  end.  That  does  not 
mean  that  it  may  not  be  true.  That  the  Sultan  would 
offer  any  terms  whatever  is  universally  taken  as 
certain  ;  and  the  report  is  doubtless  based  on  that 

1  [This  rumour  and  belief  turned  out  to  be  correct] 


76  Friday,  April  23 

belief.  But  the  offer,  if  ever  made,  would  not  be  ac- 
cepted, inasmuch  as  it  is  too  plain  that  the  Sultan  has 
not  the  power  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Germany  and 
Austria  have  supported  the  Young  Turks  against 
the  Liberals,  and  they  now  support  them  against  the 
Sultan ;  they  have  much  more  to  gain  in  that  way 
than  from  bolstering  up  the  old  regime.  Germany  up- 
held the  Sultan  as  long  as  he  was  the  strongest  power  ; 
but  it  has  nothing  to  gain  by  trying  to  restore  him  to 
power  after  he  has  fallen.  Its  advantage  obviously 
lies  in  shaking  itself  free  from  the  great  burden  of 
unpopularity  which  formerly  it  had  to  bear  among  the 
Turks  owing  to  its  upholding  the  Sultan.  According 
to  report,  the  money  which  now  enables  the  Com- 
mittee of  Union  and  Progress  to  place  their  army 
before  Constantinople  has  been  supplied  by  Austria 
and  Germany.  The  German  policy,  which  governs 
the  situation,  is  to  be  the  ally  of  the  strongest  party ; 
and  as  soon  as  the  Revolution  of  July,  1908,  proved 
that  there  was  a  power  stronger  than  the  Sultan, 
Germany  devoted  itself  to  re-establishing  its  influence 
in  the  new  Turkey,  and  according  to  all  appearance 
it  will  be  even  more  influential  in  the  newest  Turkey 
of  May,  1909,  than  it  was  under  the  old  regime.  It  is 
of  course  well  known  that  Germany  never  had  any 
love  for  the  Sultan  for  his  own  sake,  and  equally 
certain  that  the  Sultan  had  a  strong  dislike  for  the 
Germans,  whom  he  endured  as  a  lesser  evil. 

The  report  to-day  is  that  there  are  about  2,500  of 
the  Sultan's  troops  who  will  be  faithful  to  him  to  the 
last.  I  do  not  know  whether  that  is  a  large  enough 


The  Chances  of  the  Contest  77 

number  to  hold  the  extensive  grounds  and  defences 
of  Yildiz  Kiosk.  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  rouse  a 
Mohammedan  fanaticism  among  many  of  the  com- 
mon soldiers  of  the  investing  army,  if  circumstances 
kindled  the  flame.  There  are  still  many  uncertain  fac- 
tors, although  the  Sultan's  chances  are  to  day  apparently 
much  poorer  and  his  situation  almost  desperate.  At 
the  Selamlik — the  progress  of  the  Sultan  from  the 
palace  to  midday  Friday  prayer  in  the  mosque — 
the  presence  of  civilians  was  strictly  forbidden,1  and 
only  soldiers  were  allowed.  In  Stamboul  the  streets 
have  been  almost  empty  of  civilians,  though  there 
were  many  soldiers  and  sailors  about.  The  civilians 
were  probably  in  dread  of  what  might  happen  at  the 
Selamlik. 

This  deserted  look  was  a  great  contrast  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  city  yesterday,  when  the  streets  were 
crowded.  Nothing  was  taking  place  to-day.  The 
banks  closed  before  noon,  because  no  one  came  in  and 
there  was  nothing  to  do.  The  busiest  offices  of  busi- 
ness men  remained  for  a  few  hours  without  a  single 
visitor  ;  and  then  they  were  shut,  and  the  officials 
came  away.  There  is  widespread  apprehension  of 
rioting  among  the  mass  of  low-class  population  in  the 
city ;  but  I  am  assured  by  some  persons  possessed  of 
good  information  that  the  army  of  investment  will  not 
make  any  move  against  the  Sultan,  until  it  has  occu- 
pied the  city  and  guarded  it  sufficiently  to  prevent 

1  [Several  of  my  friends  were  present,  among  others,  as  I  after- 
wards learned,  the  Hulme  Scholar.] 


78  Friday,  April  23 


disorder  and  plundering.1  The  Committee  of  Union 
and  Progress  is  fully  aware  that  it  must  not  allow  its 
expected  triumph  to  be  accompanied  by  a  great  dis- 
aster to  the  capital  of  the  Empire.  Such  a  disaster 
would  end  in  a  foreign  occupation  of  the  city,  and  this 
the  Committee  dreads  as  a  disgrace  which  must  at  all 
hazards  be  avoided.  Later  in  the  day,  when  the 
Selamlik  was  safely  over,  the  streets  of  Stamboul 
became  more  frequented  for  a  time. 

The  exodus  of  the  wealthier  population  continues. 
Every  outgoing  steamer  is  crowded.  Many  refugees, 
persecuted  by  the  party  in  power,  have  been  saved 
by  the  Embassies  and  by  influential  foreigners  ;  I  hear 
especially  that  the  German  and  the  British  Embassies 
have  sheltered  or  sent  out  of  the  country  a  great 
number  of  Turks  whose  life  was  threatened. 

We  had  a  long  conversation  to-day  with  Sir  William 
and  Lady  Whittall,  who  have  a  unique  knowledge  of 
Turkey,  and  from  whom  during  many  years  of  friend- 
ship we  have  learned  much  and  received  much  kind- 
ness. A  picture  in  the  Wiener  Illustrirte  Zeitung 
of  1 8th  April  was  the  cause  of  much  amusement. 
Without  mentioning  the  lady's  name,  it  describes  how 
Mahmud  Mukhtar  Pasha,  the  Commander  of  the 
First  Army  Corps  (i.e.,  the  forces  stationed  in  Con- 
stantinople), was  saved  in  an  English  house  from  the 
mutineers  on  I3th  April,  and  represents  the  lady 
(whose  husband  was  away  from  home  at  the  time) 

1  This  confirms  what  Mehmet  Bey  said  to  my  wife  in  the  train, 
and  is  in  agreement  with  the  forecast  quoted  above  from  the 
Neue  Freie  Presse. 


Story  of  Mukhtar  Pashas  Escape  79 

in  a  stage-heroine's  attitude,  with  extended  arm,  order- 
ing the  mutineers  out  of  the  house,  into  which  they 
are  forcing  an  entrance.  There  was  a  basis  of  truth, 
and  some  incorrectness  of  detail,  in  the  picture.  Lady 
Whittall  did  in  reality  defend  the  house  against  the 
soldiers ;  and  the  General  was  inside ;  and  nothing 
but  her  courage  and  adroit  management,  guided  by 
knowledge  of  the  right  way  to  deal  with  and  speak  to 
Turks,  saved  the  General's  life ;  and  Sir  William  was 
away  on  the  Sea  of  Marmora  in  his  yacht.  So  far 
the  Vienna  paper  had  the  facts  correctly ;  but  the 
soldiers  never  actually  tried  to  force  their  way  into 
the  house. 

The  General,  whose  wife  is  an  Egyptian  Princess, 
and  who  is  one  of  the  most  influential  men  in  Turkey, 
son  of  Ghazi  ("Victorious")  Mukhtar  Pasha,  lives  in 
a  house  not  far  distant,  and  the  gardens  of  the  two 
houses  are  separated  only  by  one  intervening  garden. 
When  the  General  was  attacked  by  the  mutineers  he 
got  over  the  walls,  and  sought  refuge  in  the  English 
house.1  The  soldiers  soon  heard  where  he  was,  and 
demanded  that  he  should  be  surrendered  to  them. 
When  this  was  refused  they  surrounded  the  place,  and 
declared  they  would  have  the  General,  if  they  had  to 
blow  down  the  house  to  get  him.  For  the  time  they 
contented  themselves  with  a  strict  blockade,  permitting 
no  one  to  go  out  or  in,  but  renewing  their  threats 
from  time  to  time.  I  need  not  chronicle  all  the  events 
of  a  siege  that  lasted  more  than  eight  hours,  during 

1 A  lady  in  the  intervening  garden  brought  him  a  chair  to  aid 
him  in  climbing  over  the  second  wall. 


8o  Friday,  April  23 

which  it  often  seemed  as  if  the  assault  was  about  to  be 
made,  in  which  case  there  was  no  possibility  of  offer- 
ing resistance,  as  there  were  neither  arms  nor  people 
to  use  them  in  the  house.  Parleys  frequently  occurred, 
all  of  the  same  kind,  demands  and  requests  and  cajole- 
ments from  the  soldiers,  who  declared  that  they  would 
cut  the  Pasha  in  pieces,  but  wished  to  do  no  harm  to 
any  other  person  in  the  house — met  by  the  unvarying 
reply  that  the  lady  could  not  allow  them  to  enter  her 
house,  or  to  do  any  harm  to  any  one  in  it.  As  the 
day  wore  on  the  soldiers  became  hungry,  and  began  to 
eat  the  few  vegetables  which  at  that  season  were  ready 
in  the  garden,  whereupon  Lady  Whittall  sent  out 
food  to  them.  One  of  her  daughters-in-law  was  in  the 
house,  and  after  some  hours  it  became  urgently 
necessary  that  she  should  go  home  to  her  own  young 
family ;  but  the  soldiers  would  not  allow  any  one  to 
pass  out.  At  last  Lady  Whittall  succeeded  in  per- 
suading them,  protesting  against  their  conduct  in  im- 
peding her  daughter  from  going  to  her  home,  which 
would  endanger  the  lives  of  her  babies.  She  pointed 
to  the  young  lady,  and  asked  the  soldiers  if  they  were 
such  fools  as  not  to  be  able  to  see  that  this  was  not 
the  Pasha.  The  pathetic  touch  about  the  children, 
and  the  appeal  to  their  sense  of  humour  (the  Pasha  is 
a  large,  stout  man,  while  the  young  lady  is  very  grace- 
ful and  slender),  saved  the  situation,  and  the  young 
lady  was  allowed  to  go  home.  But  the  besiegers  still 
declared  that  they  would  have  the  General,  even 
though  they  had  to  blockade  the  house  for  days  or  to 
fetch  guns  and  blow  it  down.  Their  Father  (i.e.,  the 


Story  of  Mukhtar  Pashas  Escape  81 

Sultan)  had  so  ordered,  and  they  must  and  would 
obey. 

In  the  evening  Sir  W.  Whittall  came  in  from  the 
Marmora  in  great  anxiety,  and  succeeded  at  last  in 
procuring  late  at  night  a  telegram  direct  from  the 
Sultan  ordering  the  soldiers  to  depart.  He  told  me 
that  he  had  never  known  a  message  couched  in  such 
urgent  and  peremptory  tones — I  wish  I  could  repeat 
its  quaint  and  impressive  Moslem  expression,  but  .1 
heard  only  an  incomplete  and  general  account  of  the 
telegram,  which  probably  was  not  preserved. 

Even  after  this  there  was  still  anxiety.  The  soldiers 
might  be  waiting  and  watching  at  a  distance ;  and  it 
was  only  in  the  dead  of  night  that  the  General  was  got 
safely  down  to  the  water  disguised  as  a  Greek  sailor 
(the  garden  touches  the  Bosphorus  and  has  its  own 
pier  for  small  boats),  and  put  on  board  the  yacht,  and 
thence  transferred  by  the  launch  of  the  German 
Embassy  to  a  German  steamer  which  was  sailing  next 
day.  Mukhtar  Pasha  landed  at  the  Piraeus,  and 
thence  made  his  way  to  Salonica.  To-day  we  hear 
that  he  has  reached  San  Stefano,  and  is  to  command 
the  Army  of  Liberty.1 

It  is  well  known  to  every  person  of  every  nation- 
ality in  Constantinople  that  Sir  W.  and  Lady 
Whittall's  house  has  been  a  refuge  through  which 

1  [The  last  part  of  the  news  proved  incorrect.  The  command 
was  put  in  the  hands  of  Mahmud  Shefket  Pasha,  as  became  known 
in  the  city  later.  The  apology  was  made  to  Mahmud  Mukhtar 
that  any  action  on  his  part  would  be  liable  to  be  interpreted  as 
due  to  his  personal  desire  for  vengeance.] 

6 


82  Friday,  April  23 

many  fugitives  have  escaped  in  Abd-ul-Hamid's  time, 
and  that  hundreds  of  Armenians  were  thus  saved 
from  death ;  and,  if  any  person  who  was  under  a 
cloud  disappeared  from  public  view  for  a  day  or  two, 
speculation  arose  whether  he  had  been  arrested  and 
killed,  or  had  taken  refuge  under  the  Whittalls'  pro- 
tection. My  wife,  therefore,  asked  him  if  there  were 
no  bounds  to  his  hospitality,  and  whether  he  would 
receive  the  Sultan,  if  he  came  to  seek  refuge.  He 
said  that  it  had  always  been  his  rule  to  give  hospi- 
tality to  every  one  who  claimed  it,  asking  no  question 
and  making  no  distinction  of  party,  and  if  the  Devil 
himself  came  to  seek  refuge  and  a  means  of  escape 
from  death,  he  would  give  it  without  a  moment's 
hesitation.  It  became  a  joke  among  us  from  that  time 
on  until  the  Sultan  had  been  deported  to  Salonica ; 
every  time  we  saw  Sir  William,  and  that  was  more 
than  once  a  day,  my  wife  asked  him  whether  Abd-ul- 
Hamid  had  come  to  take  refuge. 

The  telegram  from  the  Sultan,  which  saved 
Mukh tar's  life,  certainly  seems  to  exonerate  him  in 
some  degree  from  complicity  in  the  conduct  of  the 
soldiers,  and  to  furnish  some  basis  for  the  arguments 
of  those  who  maintain  that  he  was  guiltless  in  this 
matter,  and  that  he  was  faithfully  acting  according  to 
the  Constitution.  [Several  months  later  I  heard  news 
which  throws  a  totally  different  light  on  the  situation. 
The  Sultan  never  knew  of  the  telegram,  which  was 
sent  on  his  own  responsibility  in  the  Sultan's  name  by 
a  high  military  official,  who  was  a  personal  friend  of 
Sir  W.  Whittall's,  and  who  took  the  rather  serious  risk 


Story  of  Mukhtar  Pashas  Escape  83 

of  sending  this  order.  Naturally,  there  was  much 
confusion  everywhere,  just  as  much  in  the  palace  as 
elsewhere,  and  thus  the  incident  passed  unnoticed  or 
unpunished.  But  the  fact  that  such  a  message  could 
be  sent  forth  without  the  Sultan's  consent  or  know- 
ledge is  in  itself  deserving  of  attention ;  and  events 
that  are  mentioned  later  in  the  diary  have  to  be  esti- 
mated in  connection  with  it. 

Also  I  was  informed  that  the  official  who  sent  this 
telegram  was  the  one  who  went  out  on  this  Friday, 
23rd  April  (as  we  learned  some  days  afterwards,  and 
as  is  told  later  in  the  diary),1  to  warn  the  officers  in 
command  of  the  Army  of  Liberty  that  a  massacre  was 
arranged  for  the  ensuing  night  and  that  only  an  im- 
mediate advance  could  prevent  it.  The  incident  of 
his  visit  to  the  army  at  San  Stefano  is  told  very 
picturesquely,  but  with  an  entire  ignorance  or  suppres- 
sion of  the  most  important  part,  in  the  Contemporary 
Review,  June,  1909,  p.  751.  The  writer's  statement, 
however,  that  the  officer  in  question  was  "a  Young 
Turk  at  heart "  is  quite  correct,  as  also  his  description 
of  the  duty  which  he  would  have  had  to  perform  if  the 
Ministers  had  defended  the  Sultan.] 

At  this  point  I  give  the  impressions  which  my  wife 
derived  from  a  walk  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Bos- 
phorus.  It  was  considered  by  our  friends  not  safe 
for  her  to  go  about  in  Stamboul. 

"  To-day  we  were  persuaded  to  remain  at  Kadi- 
Keui,  with  the  friends  whom  we  were  visiting,  instead 

^ee  p.  162. 


84  Friday,  April  23 

of  going,  as  our  insatiable  curiosity  and  love  of  sight- 
seeing prompted  us,  either  to  Stamboul  or  Pera.  Fri- 
day being  the  day  of '  Selamlik '  when  the  Sultan  goes 
to  public  prayer,  and  the  streets  are  more  crowded 
even  than  on  other  days,  while  thousands  of  soldiers 
are  in  attendance  ready  to  do  their  master's  bidding, 
an  appeal  might  very  easily  be  made  to  the  fanaticism 
of  the  Turks,  and  it  was  generally  believed  that 
something  was  going  to  happen  on  this  day.  Rumours 
from  more  or  less  reliable  sources  were  being  persis- 
tently repeated  that  a  massacre — some  said  of  Ar- 
menians only,  some  of  Christians  in  general — had 
been  ordered  by  the  Sultan  to  take  place  after  the 
Selamlik. 

"  Kadi-Keui,  the  village  of  the  Kadi,  or  Judge,  is  the 
prettiest  suburb  of  Constantinople.  It  is  just  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Bosphorus  on  the  Asiatic  side,  and 
about  twenty  minutes  distant  by  steamer  from  the 
Bridge.  It  occupies  the  site  of  a  very  ancient  city — 
Chalcedon — but  is  itself  entirely  modern.  Whatever 
remained  that  was  worth  taking  was  removed  by  the 
Turks  to  build  or  embellish  their  mosques  and 
palaces,  and  the  rest  is  under  the  ground.  The 
coast-line  undulates  picturesquely,  forming  a  number 
of  bays,  and  rises  on  the  south  to  a  lofty  headland, 
Moda  Burnu,  from  which  there  is  a  glorious  view  of 
the  Bosphorus  and  the  city  to  the  north,  and  of  the 
Sea  of  Marmora  and  the  Princes  Islands  to  the  south. 
The  headland  is  crowned  by  luxuriant  gardens  and 
trees,  among  which  are  a  number  of  handsome 
dwellings,  generally  white  and  of  elegant  form,  the 


Fugitives  from  Constantinople  85 

residences  of  many  English  families  and  other  wealthy 
Europeans,  and  also  of  some  Mohammedans  and  other 
Turkish  subjects.  The  bulk  of  the  people  at  Kadi- 
Keui,  and  there  is  a  large  population,  are  Christian —  L^ 
Armenians  and  Greeks  ;  and  the  former  especially 
must  have  been  suffering  agonies  of  fear  and  suspense 
— that  is,  those  of  them  who  remained  in  their  homes, 
for  a  good  many  had  fled.  Lying  in  the  Bosphorus, 
easily  reached  from  the  shore,  were  several  large 
steamers  which  we  knew  had  been  chartered  by 
rich  Greeks  and  Armenians,  and  were  ready  to  sail 
at  a  moment's  notice.  It  was  said  that  many  women 
and  children  were  already  on  board.  In  the  house 
in  which  we  were  staying  '  refugees '  were  being 
received  or  helped  away  almost  daily.  At  first  it 
was  those  who,  like  Mahmud  Mukhtar  Pasha,  were 
adherents  of  the  Young  Turk  party  ;  but  after  the 
Macedonian  army  had  approached  Constantinople  it 
was  the  turn  of  the  Liberals.  For  my  part,  I  was 
constantly  expecting  that  the  next  comer  would  be 
Abd-ul-Hamid  himself;  and  I  am  sure  he  would  have 
been  sheltered  and  helped  away  like  the  rest.  I 
could  not  believe  that  he  was  such  a  fool  as  to  remain 
in  the  Palace  of  Yildiz,  like  a  mouse  in  its  hole,  till  he 
was  caught ;  and  I  was  convinced  that  when  the 
Young  Turks  entered  the  palace  they  would  find 
that  he  had  escaped — perhaps  by  some  underground 
passage  leading  to  the  Bosphorus — and  was  safely 
out  of  their  reach.  Of  course  my  supposition  was 
quite  wrong.  'It  was  written:'  the  'Red  Sultan's' 
hour  had  come ! 


86  Friday,  April  23 


"  In  the  forenoon  my  daughter  and  I  walked  with 
Lady  Whittall  along  the  edge  of  the  cliffs,  under  the 
shade  of  wide-spreading  trees,  to  a  coffee-garden  that 
overlooks  the  Bay  of  Moda,  and  sat  in  a  green 
bower  and  drank  Turkish  coffee,  and  admired  the 
view,  and  wondered  vainly  what  might  be  happening 
in  the  city  only  a  few  miles  away.  We  had  the  gar- 
den to  ourselves.  It  is  true  the  hour  was  early,  but 
the  number  of  people  we  met  in  the  course  of  the 
morning  seemed  to  us — perhaps  wrongly — notably 
small,  even  allowing  that  the  district  was  a  residen- 
tial, not  a  business,  one.  The  countenance  of  the 
cafd-ji,  a  Greek,  wore  the  strained  look  that  was  so 
general,  and  he  poured  the  coffee  from  the  pan  into 
the  tiny  cups  in  dismal  silence.  And  when  Lady 
Whittall  (who  knew  him)  spoke  to  him  of  the  condi- 
tion of  things,  his  answers  matched  his  face  and  man- 
ner. God  knew  what  was  going  to  happen.  We 
could  only  wait  and  see. 

"  Then  we  wandered  on  among  the  fields  and  waste 
places,  and  finally  through  the  quiet  streets,  till  we 
came  to  a  Greek  church.  It  was  a  handsome  build- 
ing, almost  new.  By  good  fortune  the  priest  happened 
to  arrive  at  the  same  time.  He  was  tall,  with  a 
refined  and  intelligent  face,  dressed  in  the  loose  black 
gown  and  high  black  brimless  hat  that  marked  his 
profession,  with  a  dark  beard  of  ample  dimensions, 
and  his  long  hair  turned  up  loosely  under  the  edge  of 
his  hat  in  the  usual  way.  He  was  well  known  to  our 
companion,  and  he  greeted  us  cheerfully  and  took  us 
inside  to  see  the  decorations,  which  were  rich  and 


Opinion  of  a  Greek  Priest  87 

brilliant.  While  showing  us  the  icons,  or  holy 
pictures,  he  explained  to  us  some  of  the  minute 
differences  that  keep  the  Eastern  Church  and  the 
Western  Church  so  absolutely  apart.  He  spoke  of 
the  political  situation  gravely,  but  with  a  certain 
optimistic  cheeriness,  as  if  he  felt  sure  that  everything 
would  end  well.  He  was  the  only  person  I  heard 
speak  in  this  way.  '  When  Jesus  was  on  earth,'  he  said, 
1  He  lived  not  so  very  far  from  this  land.  He  would 
remember  His  people,  and  He  could,  and  would,  save 
them  alive.'  I  wondered  whom  he  included  in  the 
expression  'His  people'.  In  Turkey,  as  a  rule,  the 
Greeks  mean  themselves  only  when  they  speak  of 
'  the  Christians '.  They  will  tell  you  that  in  a  town 
there  are  so  many  Christians,  and  so  many  Turks, 
Armenians  and  Jews.  There  isn't  much  love  lost 
between  them  and  the  Armenians,  and  in  the  former 
massacre  Armenians  only  had  been  the  victims.  It  is 
within  the  bounds  of  possibility  that  he  did  not  include 
the  Armenians. 

"  People  returning  from  the  city  in  the  afternoon 
brought  word  that  all  the  banks  and  business  offices 
had  been  closed  by  noon,  as  there  was  no  business 
whatsoever  being  done ;  that  the  streets  were  almost 
deserted ;  and  that  every  departing  steamer  was 
crowded  with  the  wealthier  inhabitants  leaving  the 
city.  The  intensest  anxiety  prevailed.  One  lady 
told  me  privately  that  her  husband  had  heard  again 
the  report  of  an  intended  massacre,  and  that  the 
Europeans  were  included  in  the  order.  Every  now 
and  then,  during  the  remainder  of  the  day,  items  of 


88  Friday,  April  23 

news  were  brought  in,  one  very  often  contradicting 
another." 

We  still  remain  ignorant  of  the  real  facts  of  the  case. 
There  is  nothing  but  rumours ;  and  the  reports  are 
often  absolutely  contradictory  of  one  another.  One 
has  to  choose  what  seems  to  be  believed  by  the  per- 
sons of  best  judgment  and  most  experience.  What 
view  is  taken  at  the  British  Embassy  I  have  not  heard 
since  what  I  reported  two  days  ago. 

The  greatest  enigma  of  all  is  the  Sultan.  No  one 
knows  what  he  is  doing  or  intending,  whether  he  is 
going  to  resist,  or  to  escape,  or  to  sit  still  and  wait  on 
fate.  Yesterday  it  seemed  pretty  clear  that  he  was 
trying  to  make  terms  with  the  Young  Turk  leaders  ; 
to-day  no  one  knows  whether  the  attempt  will  be 
successful — no  one  is  certain  even  that  the  attempt 
was  really  made.  He  has  always  been  so  elusive 
and  so  dexterous  that  people  are  afraid  lest  he  may 
be  able  to  wriggle  out  of  the  grip  of  the  Young 
Turk  army,  and  maintain  himself  by  some  dodge. 
The  strongest  emotion  in  the  popular  mind  (so  far  as 
a  foreigner  can  learn  about  it)  seems  to  be  the  dread 
lest  the  Sultan  may  survive.  As  the  day  passes  a 
feeling  of  apprehension  of  some  calamity  increases.  In 
the  morning  it  was  believed  that  the  muster  of  the 
troops  for  the  Selamlik  would  be  the  occasion  for 
beginning  a  massacre.  When  the  Selamlik  passed  off 
quietly  there  was  a  general  feeling  of  relief ;  but  after 
an  hour  or  two  the  terror  of  something  unknown  began 
again,  and  soon  became  much  worse  than  before. 
The  Kurdish  porters  are  said  to  be  in  a  very  danger- 


Anxiety  in  Constantinople  89 

ous  mood.  They  were  introduced  to  replace  the 
Armenian  porters,  who  were  massacred  in  great  num- 
bers about  ten  years  ago  ;  in  fact,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  (few  people  here  have  any  doubt)  that  that 
massacre  was  planned  for  the  special  purpose  of 
eliminating  the  Christian  porters  and  putting  the  whole 
occupation  of  porterage  into  Mohammedan  hands. 
There  have  long  been  serious  complaints  among  the 
merchants  of  Constantinople  about  the  bad  conduct  and 
refractory  temper  of  these  Kurds  ;  they  are  said  to  be  a 
permanent  source  of  danger,  a  weapon  which  was  always 
ready  to  be  used  by  the  palace  gang  under  the  old 
regime,  and  now  some  outbreak  among  them  is  dreaded. 
An  almost  greater  enigma  than  the  Sultan  is  the 
proclamation  issued  by  Shefket  Pasha,  who  is  now 
known  to  be  the  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Army 
of  Liberty.  He  declares  that  the  soldiers  of  Liberty 
have  not  taken  up  arms  with  the  object  of  dethroning 
the  Sultan,  but  in  order  to  support  the  endangered 
Constitution  ;  if,  however,  through  the  misguided  con- 
duct of  foolish  persons,  any  other  course  of  action 
towards  the  Sultan  should  be  forced  on  those  who  are 
defending  the  State,  the  blame  for  such  action  must 
rest  on  those  who  have  provoked  it.  Never  did  an 
announcement  of  policy  leave  more  perfectly  free  the 
hands  of  those  who  have  issued  it.  In  another  pro- 
clamation it  is  announced  that  all  soldiers  of  the 
garrison  in  Constantinople  who  submit  peaceably  will 
be  safe,  but  that  a  trial  will  be  held  of  those  who  are 
accused  of  fomenting  the  Mutiny  of  I3th  April,  and 
all  who  are  found  guilty  will  be  punished. 


9O  Friday,  April  23 

On  the  other  hand,  the  report  is  that  in  the  Parlia- 
ment at  San  Stefano  cries  were  raised  of  "  Vive 
Mehmet  V.". 

There  is  quite  extraordinary  freedom  of  speech  in 
the  Press  now.  One  evening  paper  was  sold  openly, 
containing  in  French  a  full  account  of  the  Selamlik, 
headed  in  gigantic  letters,  "  Last  Selamlik  of  Sultan 
Abd-ul-Hamid  II.".  The  editor  must  feel  very  con- 
fident that  success  will  rest  with  the  Young  Turks, 
and  that  the  Sultan  is  already  doomed  ;  but  the  public 
generally  does  not  share  his  confidence.  He  may 
have  some  special  information.  The  story  has  been 
current  that  the  Army  of  Liberty  is  to  enter  the  city 
on  Monday  or  on  Tuesday  ;  but  much  may  happen 
before  Monday.  The  prediction  made  on  Wednesday 
by  the  editor  of  the  Ikdam  that  the  Salonica  army 
would  enter  on  Saturday  seems  to  have  been  wrong.1 

When  one  comes  to  think  over  the  situation  of  the 
last  week  the  most  extraordinary  feature  has  been  the 
freedom  from  disorder  and  riot.  After  the  Mutiny 
was  over  the  soldiers  returned  to  their  ordinary  course 
of  duty  or  idleness.  Here  is  a  great  city,  absolutely 
at  the  mercy  of  20,000  or  25,000  soldiers,  without 
officers  (except  a  certain  number  of  Reactionary  officers 
who  took  a  more  or  less  open  part  in  the  Mutiny). 
There  has  been  no  pillage,  nothing  beyond  the  ordin- 
ary amount  of  misconduct,  perhaps  even  less.  An 
important  fact  in  producing  this  result  has  been  that 
there  is  no  drinking.  The  soldiers  are  Mohammedans, 

1  [It  turned  out  to  be  right.] 


Last  Selamlik  of  Abd-ul-Hamid  91 

and  not  Christians.  I  do  not  doubt  that,  if  spirits  had 
been  served  out  to  the  army,  or  seized  and  drunk  by 
the  soldiers,  Constantinople  would  have  been  a  pande- 
monium during  the  last  ten  days  ;  and  a  European 
occupation  would  have  been  the  only  way  of  restoring 
peace  in  a  sacked  and  ruined  city.  It  is  a  great 
blessing  that  an  army  should  be  a  teetotal  one.  There 
has  been  as  yet  nothing  to  excite  the  soldiers  ;  but  there 
are  other  causes  of  excitement  to  which  they  are  open, 
and  vague  fears  weigh  on  every  one  lest  a  religious 
movement  may  occur.  If  it  does,  it  is  bound  to  end 
in  massacre. 

An  English  resident,  who  knows  the  city  intimately, 
told  us  that  he  went  to  the  Selamlik  to-day,  and  that 
he  never  on  any  former  occasion  saw  the  troops  more 
enthusiastic  in  their  demonstrations  of  loyalty,  or  the 
Sultan  more  smiling  and  gracious.  The  demeanour 
of  the  Sultan  seems  to  show  that  he  has  courage  of  a 
kind.  He  can  bear  himself  well  outwardly  in  a  very 
critical  situation.  But  the  Selamlik  was  a  necessity 
for  him  ;  to  miss  it  would  almost  be  equivalent  to 
abdication  ;  and  he  was  surrounded  all  the  time  by 
thousands  of  troops  demonstrating  their  loyalty.  After 
all,  his  conduct  does  not  prove  so  much  as  one  at  the 
first  moment  is  apt  to  suppose. 

I  hear  also  from  an  excellent  financial  authority 
that,  unless  some  money  can  be  found  to  pay  the 
troops  in  Stamboul  to-morrow,  there  will  be  serious 
trouble  from  the  discontent  of  the  soldiers.  This 
evening  closes  in  much  anxiety  and  profound  un- 
certainty, even  worse  than  on  Wednesday. 


92  Friday,  April  23 

The  general  uneasiness  and  apprehension  grew 
more  intense  towards  sunset ;  and  yet  nothing  de- 
finite is  known  as  to  what  is  happening  or  about  to 
happen,  or  what  is  the  condition  of  affairs  and  plans. 
The  Sultan's  forces  are  strong  in  Constantinople ; 
and  it  would  be  easy  to  rouse  in  a  short  time  a  wide 
and  fervid  religious  revival  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  which 
must  be  on  his  side.  The  city  is  still  at  the  mercy 
of  the  powerful  army  which  is  stationed  in  the  city. 
The  situation  is,  undoubtedly,  very  serious.  Our 
Young  Turk  fellow-traveller  told  us  last  Sunday  that 
every  precaution  would  be  taken  to  guard  the  life 
and  property  of  Europeans ;  and  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  reformers  to  avoid  the  disgrace  of 
having  their  advent  stained  by  serious  loss  to  the 
Europeans  ;  but  their  soldiers  are  distant,  and  the 
Sultan's  forces  are  on  the  spot.  The  native  Christians 
especially  are  in  a  most  dangerous  position ;  and  the 
Powers,  who  allowed  the  Armenians  to  be  butchered 
and  clubbed  by  thousands  in  the  streets  formerly,  are 
not  likely  to  protect  them  now,  if  a  new  massacre 
should  break  out.  If  in  the  present  crisis  a  massacre 
should  begin,  no  one  can  tell  where  it  would  end. 
A  European  occupation  might  give  a  new  lease  of 
power  to  the  Sultan.  Ambassadors  and  the  Powers 
whom  they  represent  like  established  authority ;  and 
it  is  the  tacit  or  open  support  of  the  European  States 
which  has  bolstered  up  an  effete  dynasty  in  Turkey 
long  after  the  natural  self-righting  power  of  the  East 
would  have  swept  it  away  and  replaced  it  by  a  new 
and  strong  man.  Even  the  present  Sultan,  able  and 


Growing  Terror  in  the  City  93 

acute  as  he  has  shown  himself  in  diplomacy,  is  after 
all  really  a  degenerate  ;  the  cunning  and  the  coward- 
ice which  characterise  him  (in  spite  of  the  professed 
inability  of  the  Ikdams  editor  to  understand  him) 
are  the  marks  of  a  worn-out  and  ignoble  stock.  By 
the  way  the  more  I  think  about  the  conversation  of 
that  editor  last  Wednesday,  the  less  I  like  it,  and 
the  more  I  distrust  him.  The  Turk  who  remains  so 
doubtful  about  the  character  of  Abd-ul-Hamid  has 
some  private  reason  for  concealing  his  opinions,  and 
the  reason  can  hardly  be  creditable. 

An  American  friend,  who  lives  in  Stamboul,  told 
us  that  he  went  out  towards  6  P.M.  to  take  his  usual 
evening  walk  after  the  day's  work.  The  streets  were 
absolutely  deserted.  Every  door  was  shut.  The 
silence  was  so  strange  and  so  oppressive  that  after  a 
little  he  abandoned  his  walk  and  returned  home. 
This  may  seem  to  others  to  be  an  insignificant  inci- 
dent ;  but  I  cannot  think  it  so,  for  I  know  the  man 
and  I  know  the  American  character.  A  certain 
absolutely  imperturbable  courage  is  the  birthright  of 
all  Americans  ;  and  they  carry  out  their  allotted  duty 
with  the  same  quiet,  even,  easy  spirit,  whatever  be  the 
situation  and  however  threatening  the  danger.  It 
must  be  a  very  remarkable  situation  which  produced 
in  this  man,  a  missionary,  an  old  resident,  familiar 
with  every  feature  and  turn  in  Turkish  life,  such 
apprehension  as  to  alter  his  settled  order  and  habit  of 
useful  life. 

At  dinner,  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  over  on 
the  Asiatic  side  where  we  are,  some  of  those  who 


94  Saturday,  April  24 

were  at  table  heard  cannon  firing  at  a  distance ;  and, 
if  so,  there  must  have  been  something  happening  on 
the  European  side  either  in  Stamboul  or  on  the 
outskirts.  I  could  hear  nothing ;  but  I  was  fully 
occupied  in  listening  to  the  conversation  and  to  our 
host's  excellent  stories  of  Turkish  life  and  character. 

The  situation  here  is  to  me  personally  very  health- 
giving  and  productive  of  sleep.  At  home  I  am 
tormented  by  sleeplessness.  Here  I  write  great  part 
of  every  day ;  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  situation 
produces  an  agreeable  and  soothingly  gentle  excite- 
ment, which  sends  me  to  sleep  the  moment  I  lay  my 
head  on  the  pillow.  In  Scotland,  or  in  camp  on  the 
high  plateau  of  Anatolia,  sleeplessness  is  my  nightly 
lot ;  but  in  Constantinople  I  have  acquired  the  power 
of  sleeping  early  and  long.  To-night  at  dinner  the 
conversation  was  more  serious  than  on  any  previous 
night,  and  a  feeling  of  anxiety  affected  the  whole 
company. 

Saturday,  April  24. — On  the  Asiatic  side  of  the 
Bosphorus,  where  we  are  staying,  we  were  aroused 
by  firing,  which  began  to  be  heard  at  5.20  A.M.,  and 
continued  until  about  7.  The  beginning  was  actually 
towards  4  A.M.,  but  the  earlier  stages  were  not  audible 
where  we  are.  I  heard  nothing  until  we  were  wakened 
by  a  Greek  servant  at  6.45  with  a  message  that  we 
must  rise,  as  firing  was  going  on  and  there  was  fear 
of  danger. 

"  Immediately  after  breakfast"  (I  quote  from  my 
wife)  "  we  went  outside  the  gardens  and  joined  a 
crowd  of  other  residents  who  had  collected  on  the 


Entrance  of  the  Army  of  Liberty  95 

edge  of  the  headland  of  Moda  (a  narrow  spit  of  land 
jutting  out  from  the  Asiatic  coast  between  the  Bos- 
phorus  and  the  Sea  of  Marmora)  at  the  point  from 
which  they  could  best  see  the  city.  It  was  a  glorious 
morning  and  the  view  was  entrancing.  Towers  and 
domes  and  minarets,  rising  one  behind  the  other  on 
the  high  shores  of  the  Golden  Horn,  shone  through 
a  thin  veil  of  golden  mist,  which  gradually  cleared 
away  as  the  morning  advanced,  but  from  the  midst 
of  which  at  first  clouds  of  black  smoke  rolled  up  into 
the  sky — the  smoke  of  cannon  whose  sound  every 
now  and  then  came  booming  across  the  water.  It 
was  difficult  to  tell  by  the  sound  where  the  firing  was 
taking  place,  but  the  smoke  was  rising  both  from 
Stamboul  and  from  Pera,  and  the  distance  was  too 
great  for  the  movement  of  people  to  be  seen  with  the 
naked  eye.  We  in  Moda  and  Kadi-Keui  were 
practically  isolated  for  the  moment,  for  no  steamers 
were  running  between  the  European  and  the  Asiatic 
sides  of  the  Bosphorus.  Those  at  Moda  who  pos- 
sessed launches  had  gone,  or  sent,  to  the  Bridge  in 
search  of  information  ;  but  had  returned  with  little 
more  to  tell.  Among  the  crowd  on  the  headland 
there  was  no  outward  sign  of  fear.  People  talked 
quietly,  both  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  the  children 
played  among  them.  Few  of  us  at  the  moment 
realised  how  much  this  early  arrival  of  the  besieg- 
ing army  meant.  Had  they  postponed  the  attack 
one  day,  they  would  have  been  too  late  to  prevent 
one  of  the  greatest  massacres  in  history,  the  crown- 
ing atrocity  of  Abd-ul-Hamid's  reign." 


96  Saturday,  April  24 

News  shortly  arrived  at  our  house  that  the  first 
morning  steamer,  crossing  from  our  scala  at  Kadi- 
Keui  to  Stamboul,  found  that  the  bridge  which  connects 
Galata  with  Pera,  and  which  forms  the  landing-place 
of  all  the  Bosphorus  steamers,  was  occupied  by  troops 
of  the  Army  of  Liberty,  who  refused  to  allow  any 
passengers  to  land.  So  far  as  we  can  see,  Stamboul 
is  quiet,  and  we  hear  that  it  is  strongly  guarded  every- 
where by  the  Salonica  troops.  At  first  we  thought 
that  the  firing  was  due  to  the  attack  on  Yildiz,  but  it 
soon  became  known  that  it  arose  from  an  attack  on 
the  Tash-Kishla  and  other  barracks  in  succession 
between  Pera  and  Yildiz. 

The  soldiers  of  Liberty  profess  that  it  is  not  their 
intention  to  dethrone  the  Sultan.  People  say  that  he 
will  be  allowed  to  remain  for  a  few  weeks,  and  then 
will  die  of  appendicitis  or  some  other  illness,  duly 
certified  by  a  dozen  physicians,  if  we  assume  that  the 
attack  is  successful.  But  there  is  a  good  deal  evidently 
to  do  before  that  result  is  attained. 

The  order,  sureness  and  forethought  which  mark 
the  operations  of  the  Army  of  Liberty  are,  however, 
a  good  omen.  It  turns  out  that  when  the  cavalry 
went  back  from  the  Selamlik  yesterday  they  found 
their  barracks  (the  farthest  out  from  the  city)  occupied 
by  soldiers  from  Salonica ;  some  fighting  took  place, 
but  the  Sultan's  cavalry  retired  with  a  loss  of  thirty 
men,  and  camped  for  the  night  at  the  Artillery 
Barracks  in  the  city.  This  operation  indicated 
careful  secret  planning  and  sudden  dashing  execution. 

Between  8  and  9  A.M.  we  heard  that  four  soldiers 


Volunteers  in  the  Army  of  Liberty  keeping  guard  in  the  streets  of 
Constantinople. 


Entrance  of  the  Army  of  Liberty  97 

escaping  from  Tash-Kishla  had  come  over  to  Kadi- 
Keui  and  reported  that  all  the  soldiers  in  the  barracks 
had  surrendered  after  some  fighting,  and  that  Yildiz 
was  being  invested.  At  rare  intervals  we  hear  a 
cannon-shot.  It  is  now  said  that  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  fighting  at  some  of  the  barracks,  and  that  three 
correspondents  of  English  newspapers  have  been 
wounded  (one  an  American  citizen),1  that  at  Tash- 
Kishla  the  defenders  fired  after  the  white  flag  had 
been  raised  (which  well  might  occur  by  mistake  and 
ignorance  in  that  huge  building),  and  that  then  the 
assaulting  troops  brought  up  cannon  and  smashed  the 
place.  Yildiz  Kiosk  is  now  said  to  be  under  attack 
since  midday,  and  it  was  only  about  6  P.M.  that  we 
heard  definitely  that  it  was  surrendered,  though  as 
early  as  3  a  report  was  current  to  that  effect.  There 
was  some  apprehension  that  the  soldiers  of  the 
Selimiya  Barracks,  between  Kadi-Keui  and  Scutari, 
might  cause  trouble  and  riot  on  this  side ;  but  troops 
from  San  Stefano  were  landed  and  occupied  the 
barracks  without  meeting  any  resistance.2 

The  occupation  and  guarding  of  Stamboul,  Galata 
and  Pera  were  carried  out  with  admirable  thoroughness 
and  skill.  Over  on  the  Asiatic  side  we  hear  little  and 
see  nothing,  and  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  get  across. 
A  few  people  who  own  steam-launches  have  gone 
across  to  see  Pera,  but  have  not  been  allowed  to  enter 

1  [Later  in  the  day  the  number  was  reduced  to  two,  one  slightly, 
one  dangerously.] 

2  [These  reports  about  Yildiz  and  the  Selimiya  Barracks  turned 
out  next  day  to  be  premature  and  incorrect.] 

7 


98  Saturday,  April  24 

Stamboul.  An  operation  of  very  serious  difficulty, 
the  seizure  of  a  great  city,  containing  a  considerable 
half-hostile  element,  together  with  a  large  number  of 
disorderly  and  dangerous  characters  (especially  the 
Kurdish  scoundrels  and  cut-throats,  who  are  regarded 
as  a  standing  menace  to  the  peace  of  the  city),  has 
been  accomplished  with  perfect  order ;  everything 
seems  to  have  been  foreseen  and  provided  for ;  and 
large  numbers  of  volunteers,  especially  students  in  the 
schools,  were  enrolled  and  utilised  for  the  guarding  of 
the  streets  and  the  preservation  of  peace.  The  Com- 
mittee of  Progress  deserves  the  highest  credit.  We 
hear  as  yet,  about  sunset,  of  only  a  few  casualties  to 
non-combatants  (all  to  persons  who  from  curiosity 
were  taking  risks)  and  not  a  single  case  of  disorder. 
Houses  in  the  line  of  fire  suffered.  If  the  night  passes 
with  the  same  quiet  the  occupation  of  Constantinople 
by  the  assailants  will  deserve  to  rank  very  high  among 
the  triumphs  of  civilisation  and  organisation. 

At  7  P.M.  Mukhtar  Pasha  returned  to  his  own 
house,  where  he  incurred  such  danger  from  his  own 
soldiers  twelve  days  ago,  bringing  word  that  all  was 
over,  and  that  the  Sultan  was  to  be  tried  before  a 
special  tribunal.1  He  said  that  he  took  no  part  in  the 
final  operations  lest  these  should  be  thought  to  be 
caused  by  desire  for  personal  revenge  on  his  part. 
The  news  was  brought  late  in  the  evening  by  the 
French  governess  of  the  Pasha's  little  daughter,  who 
was  charged  with  a  message  from  the  Princess — his 

1[A  premature  announcement,  which  I  allow  to  remain  as 
showing  how  difficult  it  was  to  learn  what  was  occurring.] 


Young  Volunteers  99 

wife — to  our  hostess,  announcing  that  the  Pasha  was 
safe.  The  governess  said  she  had  been  sitting  with 
her  pupil  early  in  the  evening  at  a  window  overlook- 
ing the  water,  when  they  observed  a  boat  approach- 
ing, and  the  child  recognised  her  father  seated  in  it. 
The  Pasha,  she  added,  looked  worn  and  very  grave, 
but  was  in  excellent  spirits.  He  had  brought  word 
that  the  troops  had  surrounded  the  palace  of  Yildiz, 
but  that  the  Sultan  had  given  in  before  any  attack 
was  made,  and  for  the  present  would  be  allowed  to 
retain  his  position. 

The  pupils  in  the  Military  School  and  the  High 
Schools  have  done  admirable  service.  They  all  volun- 
teered, and  were  posted  as  guards  to  keep  order  in 
the  streets,  to  protect  the  Embassies  and  the  banks 
and  other  important  offices.  They  performed  all 
their  duties  splendidly,  and  have  made  themselves 
extraordinarily  popular  in  consequence. 

Sunday,  April  25. — The  steamers  are  not  plying 
on  the  Bosphorus,  but  rowing  boats  are  allowed  to 
pass.  The  streets  of  Pera  are  crowded.  Every  one  is 
out  to  see  the  effects  of  the  battle.  Soon  it  became 
known  that  in  spite  of  the  assurance  sent  to  us  last 
night  by  Mukhtar  Pasha  himself,  the  trouble  was  not 
ended  yesterday,  and  that  matters  are  still  in  an  uneasy 
condition.  Yildiz  and  some  barracks  are  still  holding 
out ;  the  palace  defences  are  still  rilled  with  troops — 
4,000  in  number,  as  the  morning  papers  stated — not  to 
mention  the  innumerable  women  and  attendants  of  the 
harem. 

It  was  said  that  the  guns  of  the  palace  would  fire 


ioo  Sunday,  April  25 

on  Pera  and  destroy  the  European  quarter  if  any 
attack  were  made  on  it.  Also,  it  was  reported  that 
the  Selimiya  Barracks  on  the  Asiatic  side,  between 
Kadi-Keui  and  Scutari,  were  still  held  by  the  Sultan's 
troops,  who  declared  that  they  would  fire  on  Pera  if 
Yildiz  were  attacked.  As  we  had  heard  on  excellent 
authority  that  these  barracks  had  been  occupied  by 
the  Salonica  soldiers  yesterday,  this  was  a  great 
puzzle.  Several  of  our  friends  had  seen  these  soldiers 
landing  and  entering  the  barracks  unopposed ;  and 
one  friend  had  sheltered  in  his  house  all  night  two  of 
the  old  garrison,  who  declared  that  great  numbers  of 
their  comrades  were  fleeing,  as  they  themselves  were. 
The  fugitives  were  offering  their  Mauser  rifles  freely 
for  sale  at  a  dollar  or  two  dollars  each,  and  thus  pro- 
viding a  little  ready  money  for  the  journey  inland,  if 
they  found  a  purchaser.  Yet  there  has  still  been 
throughout  the  day  great  anxiety  as  to  what  the 
remainder  of  the  troops  might  do ;  and  things  were 
said  to  be  very  dubious  about  midday. 

No  one  seems  to  know  what  is  the  actual  condition 
of  things.  Some  of  our  friends,  driving  in  the  street 
that  leads  from  Pera  to  Yildiz,  found  themselves  all 
of  a  sudden  in  the  centre  of  a  fusillade.  Rifle-bullets 
were  whistling  past  them,  and  they  saw  an  officer  of 
the  Salonica  army  fall  wounded  in  the  breast,  with 
blood  pouring  from  his  mouth ;  a  number  of  pas- 
sengers in  the  street  hastily  fled.  Scenes  of  this  kind 
seem  occasionally  to  happen.  Yet  another  friend 
walked  right  up  to  the  gates  of  Yildiz,  and  saw  not  a 
trace  of  troops  or  trouble,  and  was  challenged  by 


Pera  after  the  Attack  101 

nobody.  At  noon  all  communication  was  stopped 
across  the  Bosphorus,  and  visitors  to  Pera  were  refused 
permission  to  return  to  the  Asiatic  side,  until  the  affair 
of  the  Selimiya  Barracks  was  settled.  My  wife  and 
daughter,  who  had  gone  over  to  Pera  in  the  morning, 
had  considerable  difficulty  in  getting  back.  I  give 
their  account  of  their  experiences.  I  was  too  busy  to 
go  over,  and  sat  writing  or  walked  out  at  intervals  to 
hear  the  news. 

"  As  a  friend,  Mrs.  Whitehouse,  who  was  paying  a 
visit  to  her  parents  on  the  Asiatic  side,  was  deter- 
mined to  go  and  see  for  herself  how  her  husband 
was  faring  and  whether  any  damage  had  been  done 
to  her  house,  which  was  in  the  part  of  Pera  where 
the  fighting  had  taken  place,  Margaret  and  I  seized 
the  opportunity  to  accompany  her.  We  went  in  a 
caique,  as  the  steamers  were  still  not  running.  The 
city  had  been  placed  under  martial  law :  but  all 
decent  and  well-disposed  persons  (like  ourselves) 
could  go  about  as  they  pleased  during  the  day,  and 
the  authorities  were  particularly  anxious  that  every- 
body should  so  far  as  possible  carry  on  their  business 
and  other  affairs  as  usual. 

"  Small  boats  do  not  land  passengers  on  the  Bridge, 
but  at  the  quays  at  either  end.  To-day  nobody  was 
permitted  to  land  at  the  Stamboul  side,  but  that  did 
not  interfere  with  us,  as  we  were  going  to  Pera. 
The  quay  and  the  streets  were  crowded,  but  the 
Bridge,  which  is  generally  the  most  crowded  part  of 
the  whole  city,  was  empty,  except  for  a  small  band  of 
soldiers  who  guarded  the  entrance  to  it  and  allowed 


IO2  Sunday,  April  25 


no  one  to  pass.  Otherwise  there  was  little  sign  of 
an  unusual  condition  of  things.  Among  the  people 
who  thronged  the  streets  were  many  soldiers ;  but 
they  had  not  the  appearance  of  being  on  duty,  but 
strolled  about  or  drove  at  their  ease  in  open  carriages. 

"  We  took  one  of  the  carriages  which,  as  usual, 
were  standing  for  hire  near  the  end  of  the  Bridge, 
and  drove  up  to  the  chapel  of  the  British  Embassy 
where  we  found  Mr.  Whitehouse.  All  the  public 
buildings  we  passed  on  the  way  were  guarded  by 
soldiers.  Mr.  Whitehouse  was  uncertain  if  people 
would  come  to  service.  The  fighting  in  Pera  was 
over  for  the  time  being  at  least,  all  the  barracks  there 
having  surrendered  ;  but  trouble  was  expected  at  the 
Selimiya  Barracks  at  Scutari,  to  which  place  three 
steamer  loads  of  troops  had  just  been  despatched. 
The  Whitehouses'  house  was  all  right,  for,  although  it 
was  close  to  where  the  fighting  had  occurred,  it  was 
out  of  the  line  of  fire.  We  heard  further  details  from 
a  lady  on  whom  we  called.  It  was  said  that  between 
two  and  three  hundred  soldiers  had  been  killed  alto- 
gether— about  twenty  of  the  attacking  troops,  and 
the  rest  inside  the  barracks.  There  were  also  many 
wounded,  and  the  hospitals  were  full.  The  tramway- 
cars  had  been  utilised  as  ambulances. 

"  On  returning  to  the  chapel,  we  found  that  people 
had  come  as  usual,  and  service  was  going  on.  A 
cavass  from  the  British  Consulate,  a  Turk,  was 
standing  at  the  gate,  and  we  spoke  to  him  for  a  little. 
He  told  us  about  the  soldiers  at  the  Taxim  Barracks 
showing  the  white  flag  and  then  firing  on  the  ad- 


Pera  after  the  Attack  103 

vancing  troops,  which  he  believed  to  be  an  act  of 
treachery,  not  a  mistake,  as  many  people  are  inclined 
to  think ;  and  he  considered  that  it  was  quite  right 
that  those  who  were  guilty  of  such  treachery  should 
be  shot ;  as  they  were  last  night.  He  also  declared 
that  there  would  be  no  real  peace  as  long  as  the 
Sultan  was  alive ;  an  opinion  that  seems  to  be  held 
by  Mohammedans  and  Christians  alike. 

"  Leaving  Margaret  at  chapel,  I  went  to  the 
Khedivial  Hotel  in  the  Grande  Rue.  The  street  was 
thronged  with  people  in  their  Sunday  attire,  just  as  it  is 
on  ordinary  Sundays ;  and  yet  there  was  a  difference 
— the  subtle,  indescribable,  impalpable  something  of 
which  one  was  conscious  all  the  time  during  those 
days  of  uncertainty.  As  I  was  returning,  a  band  of 
soldiers  marched  down  the  street  towards  Galata,  the 
crowd  applauding  them  with  hand-clapping  as  they 
passed.  I  could  not  tell  by  their  appearance  that 
they  had  taken  part  in  the  recent  fighting.  They 
looked  fresh  and  jolly.  They  wore  'tcharik,'  a  kind 
of  moccasin,  not  hard  soled  like  an  ordinary  boot, 
and  marched  with  a  particularly  light  and  springy  and 
almost  silent  step. 

"  By  the  time  service  in  chapel  was  over,  it  was  too 
late  to  drive  out  to  see  the  captured  barracks,  which 
were  said  to  be  much  battered  by  shot.  The  Salonica 
troops,  who  are  said  to  be  first-rate  marksmen,  had 
aimed  at  the  windows  with  deadly  effect.  It  was  as 
well  we  did  not  make  the  attempt,  for  had  we  been  a 
little  later  we  might  have  been  unable  to  return  to 
Kadi-Keui  that  day.  We  had  to  take  a  roundabout 


IO4  Sunday,  April  25 

way  in  order  to  avoid  a  long  string  of  gun-carriages 
and  carts  of  ammunition,  winding  its  way  slowly  up 
the  steep  narrow  street,  bound  (we  supposed)  for 
Yildiz  ;  and  when  we  reached  the  quay  and  some  of 
us  were  already  seated  in  the  boat,  a  soldier  came 
running  along  calling  out  'Yassak,'  'It  is  forbidden,' 
and  declaring  that  we  were  too  late  ;  no  one  could 
now  be  allowed  to  leave  by  boat.  It  appeared  that 
the  attack  on  the  Selimiya  Barracks  was  just  about 
to  begin,  and  it  was  not  safe  for  any  boat  to  go  near 
Scutari.  A  sympathetic  and  interested  crowd  soon 
collected  on  the  quay,  and  a  man  suggested  that  Mr. 
Whitehouse  should  appeal  to  the  officer  at  a  Kara- 
kol  (guardhouse)  close  by,  which  he  at  once  did. 
He  returned  in  a  few  moments  with  the  officer,  a 
very  pleasant-looking  little  fellow,  to  whom  he  had 
explained  our  circumstances,  and  who,  with  the  good 
sense  and  politeness  that  characterise  the  Young 
Turks,  at  once  gave  us  leave  to  depart. 

"  As  we  crossed  we  noticed  that  a  gunboat  which 
earlier  in  the  day  had  been  lying  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Bosphorus,  had  changed  its  position  and  was 
lying  off  the  Scutari  shore  with  a  torpedo  boat  beside 
it.  When  almost  opposite  the  barracks  we  heard  the 
sound  of  firing — rifles  not  cannon.  It  lasted  only  a 
few  moments.  It  turned  out  afterwards  that  there 
had  been  no  resistance  at  the  Selimiya.  When  the 
Salonica  troops  arrived,  half  of  the  garrison  had 
already  fled,  and  those  who  remained  surrendered 
at  once,  giving  up  their  arms.  They  were  made 
prisoner  and  had  been  conducted  to  the  scala  where 


Yildiz  Palace  still  untaken  105 

they  were  to  embark  for  Stamboul,  when,  either  acci- 
dentally or  intentionally,  some  one  fired  a  shot. 
There  was  a  sudden  panic  among  the  large  crowd 
assembled  to  see  the  departure  of  the  soldiers.  The 
Salonica  troops  imagined  they  were  caught  in  an 
ambush,  and  fired  a  volley.  But  the  officers  in 
charge  kept  their  heads  and  succeeded  in  restoring 
order  immediately.  One  or  two  people,  however, 
were  killed  and  several  wounded." 

In  the  later  afternoon  we  got  the  assurance  from  a 
friend  who  has  most  intimate  knowledge  of  Constanti- 
nople that  all  was  really  finished,  that  all  the  barracks  had 
been  occupied,  that  the  Sultan  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  Salonica  army,  and  that  it  was  not  yet  determined 
what  should  be  done  with  him.  The  Parliament  is 
returning  from  San  Stefano  to  Stamboul.  Yet,  in 
spite  of  this  assurance,  the  last  reports  at  night  on  the 
Asiatic  side  are  that  the  Sultan's  troops  are  still  resist- 
ing, and  that  Yildiz  is  being  defended  by  a  faithful 
body  of  2,000  soldiers.  Such  are  the  uncertainties  and 
the  conflict  of  news. 

Throughout  the  day  one  could  cross  the  Bosphorus 
only  in  rowing  boats  or  steam-launches.  The  steamers 
had  all  gone  to  the  islands,  and  the  captains  refused  to 
risk  their  lives  in  the  Bosphorus.  It  appears  that  on 
the  morning  of  the  24th  a  steamer  attempted  to  put 
in  to  the  Galata  Bridge,  but  was  warned  by  the  guard 
there  not  to  come  alongside.  The  captain,  however, 
with  the  stolid  impassiveness  of  the  Turk,  kept  on  his 
course  in  the  usual  fashion,  and  was  shot  down  by  the 
guard.  Hence  the  flight  of  all  the  steamers,  which 


io6  Sunday,  April  25 

are  now  said  to  be  lying  at  one  of  the  Princes  Islands. 
The  passengers  by  the  Egyptian  steamer  Osmanieh 
were  allowed  to  land ;  and  the  funeral  of  an  English 
lady,  a  visitor  from  Newnham  College,  Cambridge, 
who  died  here  in  hospital  of  an  old-standing  illness 
which  suddenly  developed  to  a  fatal  stage,  was  per- 
mitted to  take  place,  crossing  from  Pera  to  the  English 
Cemetery  beside  Scutari. 

In  the  evening  we  received  a  note  from  Miss  Alice 
Gardner  of  Newnham  College,  hastily  written  in  the 
boat  in  which  she  was  crossing  for  the  burial  of  her 
deceased  friend.  She  mentioned  that  she  was  at  the 
Khedivial  Palace  Hotel,  and  asked  us  to  go  to  see 
her  to-morrow,  if  possible,  as  she  was  returning  forth- 
with to  Cambridge.  On  the  boat  she  had  met  one 
of  our  friends,  and  written  the  note  for  him  to  deliver. 
We  of  course  resolved  to  go  over  in  the  morning  to 
see  her.  I  hoped  also  to  meet,  or  to  hear  some  news 
of  the  Hulme  Scholar,  from  whom  a  verbal  message 
has  come  that  he  is  at  the  same  hotel,  though  there 
has  been  no  chance  of  seeing  him  since  he  arrived 
here  three  days  after  us. 

A  little  uncertainty  and  anxiety  prevails  towards 
night,  but  on  the  Asiatic  side  the  Army  of  Liberty  is 
now  in  occupation.  We  are  under  martial  law,  and 
no  one  is  permitted  to  be  out  in  the  streets  after  one 
o'clock  Turkish,  i.e.  8  P.M.  These  Salonica  soldiers 
stand  no  nonsense.  If  any  person,  except  a  European, 
shows  signs  of  reluctance  to  obey  they  shoot  forthwith. 
There  are  among  them  some  few  volunteers  from  the 
Anatolian  Provinces,  but  the  strength  of  the  army  is 


Conduct  of  the  Salonica  Troops  107 

Macedonian,  especially  Albanian.  Towards  evening 
a  friend  of  ours  asked  one  of  the  soldiers  on  guard 
here  at  Kadi-Keui  (who  by  his  speech  betrayed  him- 
self at  once  as  Anatolian)  whether  he  needed  anything, 
intending  to  offer  him  food.  The  soldier  said  he 
had  eaten  nothing  the  whole  day.  At  that  moment 
an  On-bashi,  or  corporal,  whom  one  could  see  to  be 
an  Albanian  by  his  walk  and  air,  approached  with  a 
file  of  soldiers.  Our  friend  put  the  same  question. 
The  Albanian  at  once  replied  :  "  We  have  everything 
we  want;  our  Government  provides  for  us,"  and  then 
the  wretched  Anatolian  was  obliged  to  say  the  same. 
I  hear  that  everywhere  the  troops  of  Freedom  decline 
help  and  provisions,  saying  that  their  Government  looks 
after  them ;  only  cigarettes  and  water  are  accepted ; 
and  those  who  are  guarding  the  Embassies  and  Con- 
sulates take  some  mild  refreshment,  such  as  tea. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  army  of  occupation 
has  behaved  with  the  most  marvellous  orderliness,  and 
has  not  touched  any  one  who  was  evidently  peaceable. 
Also,  the  soldiers  have  shown  the  most  splendid 
courage  in  attack.  The  British  sailors  connected  with 
the  Embassy  were  watching  the  fighting  close  at  hand, 
and,  as  I  am  told,  declared  that  the  bravery  and  dash 
of  the  troops  were  beyond  praise  ;  nothing  could  have 
been  finer,  and  a  lot  of  Albanians  ought  to  be  got  for 
the  British  navy ! 

Monday,  April  26. — There  was  still  much  un- 
certainty this  morning  as  to  the  exact  position  of 
affairs,  but  the  steamers  on  the  Bosphorus  began  to 
run,  though  rather  irregularly,  and  the  streets  were 


io8  Monday,  April  26 

crowded  with  busy  and  idle  people,  chiefly  the  latter. 
Guards  were  still  posted  everywhere,  but  all  the  world 
was  gay  and  bright.  I  never  saw  Constantinople  look 
so  happy  ;  but  I  understand  that,  since  the  reign  of 
terror  and  spies  ended  last  July,  the  city  lost  its  mourn- 
ful and  anxious  appearance  and  has  been  quite  gay 
until  the  last  fortnight.  To-day  every  one  was  joyous  ; 
and  people  were  still  going  to  see  the  places  where 
most  fighting  had  taken  place.  The  loss  of  life  seems 
to  have  been  small.  Instead  of  thousands,  the  slain 
are  estimated  by  good  authorities  as  about  250;  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  small  loss  is  due  to  the 
conspicuous  gallantry  of  the  soldiers  of  Liberty,  who 
never  hesitated,  or  lost  a  moment  or  a  chance.  At 
present  these  soldiers  are  perfectly  orderly,  and  do 
their  work  admirably.  They  never  interfere  with 
peaceful  people  ;  but,  if  a  person  seems  suspicious  or 
dangerous,  they  arrest  him  on  the  moment,  or,  in  case 
of  risk,  shoot ;  and  they  seem  to  make  no  mistakes. 
The  disorderly  characters  who  abound  in  Constanti- 
nople, and  especially  the  Kurd  porters  and  assassins, 
who  were  ready  to  sack  the  whole  place  if  the  Sultan 
had  triumphed,  are  downcast  in  demeanour  and  evi- 
dently full  of  hatred.  So  are  a  good  many  military 
officers  of  the  old  type  and  the  ultra-religious  Moham- 
medans. But  many  of  them  are  being  eliminated ; 
the  Kurds  deported  to  their  native  haunts ;  and  the 
former  soldiers  sent  away  from  the  capital  to  Salonica, 
where  they  will  be  kept  under  strict  discipline. 

It  turns  out  that  the  firing  in  Tash-Kishla  Barracks 
after  the  white  flag  had  been  raised  was  not  wholly 


Number  of  the  Attacking  Army  109 

accidental.  It  was  done  by  the  Chasseurs  of  Salonica, 
who  had  given  way  to  the  persuasions  of  fanatics  (and 
perhaps  the  bribes  of  agents  coming  from  or  pretend- 
ing to  come  from  the  Sultan),  and  joined  in  the  Mutiny 
of  the  1 3th  April.  Now,  being  afraid  that  there  was 
no  pardon  for  them,  they  resisted  to  the  end. 

It  is  difficult  to  gather  any  trustworthy  idea  of  the 
numbers  of  the  attacking  force.  I  have  heard  them 
estimated  at  40,000  regulars  and  20,000  volunteers ; 
and  one  friend  who  takes  this  view  bases  it  on  the 
statements  of  the  railway  authorities  (with  whom  he 
is  closely  connected  in  business)  as  to  the  number  of 
trains.  The  two  authorities  whom  I  trust  most  take 
a  more  moderate  view — both  are  old  residents  in  the 
city,  knowing  intimately  many  Turks  in  high  positions. 
One  said  that  1 2,000  was  the  probable  number  of  the 
army  which  besieged  and  captured  Constantinople 
(aided  of  course  at  the  last  by  many  volunteers  in  the 
city,  especially  the  pupils  in  the  military  schools).  The 
other  committed  himself  to  no  numerical  estimate,  but 
said  that  the  leaders  of  the  army  had  "bluffed"  the 
defenders,  and  were  probably  not  so  numerous  as  their 
prisoners  ;  and  one  of  the  generals  to  whom  he  was 
talking  admitted  that  this  was  not  far  from  the  truth. 

These  statements  agree  with  the  estimate  of  the 
possibilities  of  the  attack,  quoted  in  my  diary  last 
week  from  the  Neue  Freie  Presse.  The  actual  issue 
of  events  has  strongly  confirmed  that  article,  and 
proved  that  it  emanated  from  a  thoroughly  well-in- 
formed source. 

There  is  a  general  tendency  to  overestimate  the 


no  Monday,  April  26 

numbers  of  the  attacking  force,  and  the  leaders  en- 
courage  the   tendency,    because   it   is   part   of  their 
game  to  instil  into  every  mind  the  belief  that  they  com- 
mand an  overwhelming  force.     A  good  example  of 
the   unconscious   tendency   to  overestimate   came  to 
my  knowledge  to-day.     One  of  the  few  passengers 
who  arrived  in  Constantinople  by  the  same  train  in 
which  we  were  travelling  on  2Oth  April,  a  business 
man  of  high  standing  in  the  city,  states  that  he  saw 
on  that  day  twenty -two  trains  coming  up  to  Tchatalja, 
each  containing  about  fifty  waggons  filled  with  troops. 
As  each  waggon  carries  forty -eight  men  or  eight  horses, 
this  gives  a  big  number  for  one  day.     The  writer  in 
the  Neue  Freie  Presse  estimated  the  utmost  transport 
capacity  of  the  Salonica  railway  at  ten  trains  per  day. 
We  saw  only  two  military  trains  going  towards  Con- 
stantinople during  the  whole  day,  and  in  one,  which 
I  counted,  there  were  not  more  than  thirty  waggons. 
The  difference  between  the  two  estimates,  though 
startling,  is  easily  explicable.     We  saw  the  trains  at 
station  after  station  as  we  were  permitted  to  dodge 
along  the  line.     The  military  trains  did  not  get  along 
any   faster   than    the    regular    passenger   train.       A 
careless   observer    might    look    out   of   his   carriage 
window  at  each  station  and  count  the  same  train  over 
and   over  again.     We  got  out  and  talked  with  the 
soldiers,  cheered  them  and  waved  salutes  to  them,  and 
were  on  quite  friendly  terms  with  some  of  them  before 
the  final   parting;  in   this   way  we  learned   the   real 
facts,  viz.,  that  there  were  only  two,  and  not  twenty- 
two  trains. 


Condition  of  the  Macedonian  Army         in 

The  truth  is  that  the  Macedonian  army  is  in  a 
dangerously  weak  condition.  The  Young  Turks 
know  this  well,  and  are  bent  on  doing  their  best  to 
improve  and  strengthen  it,  but  it  does  not  serve  their 
purpose  to  publish  the  fact  on  the  house-tops  in 
Constantinople.  The  men  are  full  of  enthusiasm  and 
as  brave  as  any  in  the  world,  but  the  equipment 
is  very  poor  and  terribly  defective.  When  the 
Bulgarian  trouble  was  beginning  last  autumn,  Kiamil 
Pasha  ordered  a  careful  estimate  of  the  fighting  power 
of  the  Macedonian  army  to  be  made.  He  found  that 
the  armament  was  deficient  in  the  last  degree,  and 
his  whole  policy  had  to  be  guided  and  limited  by  this 
decisive  fact.  [Two  months  later  I  met  an  old  ac- 
quaintance, who  knows  the  affairs  of  Bulgaria  and  of 
the  Balkan  Peninsula  generally  as  few  men  do.  I 
mentioned  to  him  this  fact,  and  the  indubitable  au- 
thority which  I  had  for  it.  He  said  that  the  Bul- 
garians were  quite  aware  of  it,  and  reckoned  that  they 
could  march  to  San  Stefano  without  serious  opposi- 
tion. The  two  statements  give  some  idea  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  the  Government  of  Turkey  had  to  contend 
with  during  last  winter,  and  which  it  has  been  energeti- 
cally striving  to  overcome  in  the  present  year.] 

During  the  day,  while  it  was  not  easy  to  learn  the 
exact  facts  in  Yildiz,  there  was  no  doubt  that  the 
defending  troops  had  almost  all  surrendered,  and  the 
barracks  in  the  grounds  were  empty.  A  certain 
number  of  soldiers,  perhaps  about  1,000,  were  left  with 
the  Sultan,  but  these  were  considered  to  be  safe.  It 
was  being  deliberated  what  should  be  done  with  him. 


112  Monday \  April  26 

Probably  this  means  that  pressure  is  being  put  on  him 
to  abdicate.  He  is  practically  alone  ;  the  women  and 
many  servants  of  the  palace  have  been  removed. 
When  he  has  become  a  private  individual,  it  will  be 
easier  to  deal  with  him.  If  he  persists  in  his  refusal 
to  abdicate  there  is  always  a  possibility  of  reducing 
him  to  a  private  station  by  dethronement.  This  is  a 
rather  complicated  procedure.  Though  primarily  a 
religious  act,  it  cannot  originate  from  the  head  of  the 
religion,  the  Sheikh-ul- Islam,  but  only  from  the  Fetva- 
Emin6,  who  is  a  very  old  man,  much  respected.  If 
he  should  grant  the  Fetva  that  the  Sultan  is  unfit  to 
reign,  this  must  be  countersigned  first  by  the  Sheikh- 
ul-Islam,  next  by  the  Grand  Vizier  and  the  Minister  of 
War  ;  then  it  becomes  effective.  I  am  assured  by  a 
good  authority  that  this  is  the  full  course  of  procedure  ; 
but  most  accounts  omit  the  Fetva-Emine  or  assign  a 
quite  subordinate  share  to  him,  whereas  the  truth  is 
that  he  is  the  fountain-head  of  the  whole  process. 
The  question  is  submitted  to  him  in  the  form  of  a 
general  question  of  law :  if  a  Commander  of  the 
Faithful  is  guilty  of  such  and  such  acts,  is  it  lawful  to 
depose  him  ?  Should  the  Fetva  go  forth  "it  is  law- 
ful," the  Sultan  is  thereby  deposed,  and  the  next  heir 
according  to  Ottoman  custom  (i.e.,  the  eldest  male  of 
the  family)  succeeds  him.  The  stage  which  to 
Western  minds  seems  most  important,  viz.,  the  proof 
that  this  present  Sultan  has  been  guilty  of  the  acts 
which  are  worthy  of  deposition,  is  entirely  omitted. 
To  the  Eastern  mind  that  stage  seems  quite  unneces- 
sary ;  the  question  could  not  be  put,  except  by  persons 


VIL— P.  112. 


Servants  from  the  Palace  led  through  the  streets  of  Pera  to  prison. 

See  p.  124. 


Form  of  Deposition  of  a  Sultan  1 1 3 

who  had  power  to  enforce  deposition  and  who  desire 
legalisation  for  their  act.  The  essential  fact  to  the 
Eastern  mind  is  whether  the  Fetva-Emine  has  resolu- 
tion enough  to  resist,  if  he  disagrees.  Proof  of  guilt 
is  an  unimportant  trifle.  We  of  the  West  want 
evidence  and  hunt  for  witnesses.  The  Oriental  wants 
facts,  and  has  no  belief  in  witnesses,  who  can  always 
be  procured  to  say  anything  (just  as  expert  evidence 
can  be  got  in  Britain  on  both  sides  of  any  question). 
Truly  the  Eastern  mind  can  never  sympathise  with 
the  Western.  Here  it  adopts  a  process  of  Roman 
law,  the  appeal  to  a  juris  consultus,  but  puts  a  totally 
new  spirit  into  the  old  form. 

We  went  to  the  Khedivial  Palace  Hotel  to  meet 
Miss  Gardner,  and  heard  her  experiences  in  the  trying 
situation  in  which  she  had  been  placed.  As  a  historian, 
she  naturally  had  found  the  political  situation  very 
interesting ;  and,  as  her  field  of  research  has  been  so 
closely  associated  with  Constantinople,  she  had  speci- 
ally good  reason  to  appreciate  the  local  surroundings  ; 
but  the  care  of  her  dying  friend  was  a  serious  charge, 
and  the  hotel  had  been  in  a  strange  condition.  The 
proprietors  and  principals  fled,  leaving  it  in  charge 
of  the  waiters  and  the  humbler  officials,  who  were 
tied  by  poverty  to  their  work.  We  also  saw  the 
Hulme  Scholar  for  the  first  time  since  we  parted  at 
Berlin.  He  had  been  acting  as  if  he  were  a  War 
Correspondent,  getting  close  to  the  line  of  fire  between 
the  two  armies,  and  seemed  to  have  enjoyed  the  ex- 
perience of  being  shot  at  by  both  sides.  The  question 

had  to  remain  open  when  we  should  be  able  to  get 

8 


ii4  Tuesday,  April  27 

away  into  Asiatic  lands  ;  but  I  hope  that  on  Monday 
next  we  may  start.  Some  sort  of  Government  should 
be  patched  up  by  that  time.  For  the  present  the  old 
ministry  remains  in  nominal  authority  ;  but  really  the 
Army  and  its  General  are  supreme.  The  situation 
is  very  similar  to  that  in  the  Roman  Empire,  when 
the  soldiers  had  put  down  one  Emperor  and  had  not 
yet  chosen  another.  Only  at  present  the  old  Sultan 
is  still  permitted  to  live. 

Tuesday,  April  27. — The  more  one  sees  of  the 
character  of  the  situation,  the  more  one  must  admire 
the  skill  with  which  it  has  been  handled.  Not  a  mistake 
is  as  yet  apparent ;  everything  has  been  foreseen  and 
provided  for.  It  now  remains  to  be  shown  what  use 
will  be  made  of  this  striking  success.  Will  it  be 
turned  into  a  means  of  doing  away  with  the  rival  party, 
the  Liberal  Union  ?  The  chiefs  of  the  Liberals  have 
all  fled  or  been  arrested.  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din,  the 
head  of  the  party,  was  arrested  last  night.  Kiamil, 
its  other  head,  is  living  in  seclusion.  His  son,  Said, 
is  deeply  compromised  in  the  mutiny  and  riot  of  the 
1 3th.  Said  has  done  his  father  much  harm  for  many 
years  by  his  foolish  and  unprincipled  conduct.  His 
accessibility  to  bribery  has  long  been  a  scandal.  It  is 
said  also  that,  while  his  father  was  Grand  Vizier  last 
winter,  he  was  guilty  of  practical  jokes  of  the  worst 
character.  The  story  is  that  on  one  occasion  he  sent 
printed  invitations  to  leading  personages,  Embassy 
officials,  etc.,  inviting  them  to  the  circumcision  of  the 
son  of  Hilmi  Pasha  (who  had  no  son),  and  that  some 
of  those  invited,  who  did  not  know  the  situation,  sent 


Situation  of  the  Liberals  1 1 5 

the  customary  presents  to  the  father.  This  story  I 
heard  only  in  popular  gossip,  and  do  not  vouch  for  it 
as  more  than  scandal,  but  stories  illustrate  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  person  about  whom  they  are  invented. 

Said  Bey  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  several 
days  ago  by  sea.  The  steamer  (French,  I  think) 
touched  at  Smyrna,  and  all  the  time  it  lay  in  the 
harbour,  as  the  story  ran,  fifteen  or  sixteen  men  with 
rifles  waited  around  the  steamer  prepared  to  shoot  him 
if  he  showed  face.  This  was  not  due  to  official  action, 
but  to  the  general  public  hatred  felt  for  him. 

One  of  the  most  serious  dangers  in  the  situation 
now,  one  which  weighs  heavily  on  the  minds  of  those 
who  wish  well  to  Turkey  and  the  Young  Turks,  is 
that  the  bitter  personal  feeling  against  the  defeated 
and  discredited  Liberals  may  lead  the  victors  into 
vindictive  retaliation.  This  could  do  no  good,  and 
much  harm.  The  Liberals  have  disappeared  from  the 
stage  as  completely  as  if  they  had  all  died.  They  are, 
in  fact,  even  more  powerless,  if  those  who  have  not 
taken  to  flight  are  allowed  to  live  on  in  Turkey,  than 
if  they  are  persecuted  and  exiled  or  executed.  Every 
one  now  knows  that  the  sole  choice  open  to  Turkey 
was  between  the  victory  of  the  Young  Turks  and 
the  restoration  of  the  power  of  Abd-ul-Hamid.  The 
Liberals  had  effaced  themselves,  and  could  only  retire 
or  join  the  Reaction.  Outside  of  their  number  I  should 
be  surprised  to  hear  that  any  one  in  Constantinople 
except  a  few  foreigners  who  consistently  sympathised 
with  them  to  the  end,  and  were  thereby  betrayed  into 
sympathising  with  the  Sultan  against  the  Young  Turks, 


n6  Tuesday,  April  27 

entertained  the  smallest  doubt  on  this  point.  The 
events  of  the  last  week  have  convinced  every  one. 
If  the  Liberals  are  simply  ignored  and  allowed  to  live 
on  in  retirement  and  obscurity  their  powerlessness 
continues.  If  they  are  vindictively  treated,  sympathy 
will  be  awakened,  and  that  may  give  them  strength 
among  the  people. 

The  preceding  lines  were  written  in  the  morning 
at  an  uncomfortable  hour  while  I  was  crossing  the 
Bosphorus  to  carry  the  first  news  of  the  arrest  of  Prince 
Sabah-ed-Din  to  some  persons,  to  whom  he  desired 
that  the  information  and  a  message  from  himself  should 
be  conveyed  as  soon  as  possible.  He  was  arrested  on 
his  estate  in  the  country  on  the  Asiatic  side,  and  he 
sent  this  news  through  the  governess  in  his  family,  an 
English  lady.  As  it  happened,  I  was  the  only  person 
available  to  pass  on  the  message ;  and  hence  I  had 
to  make  an  early  and  hurried  journey  and  to  visit 
persons  whom  I  was  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
seeing  and  should  not  otherwise  have  seen.  The 
event  looks  like  the  beginning  of  a  harsh  policy,  and 
must  rouse  grave  misgivings. 

I  also  called  at  the  Embassy.  We  are  eager  to  get 
off  up  the  country  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  start  without 
official  letters  from  the  Government,  and  there  is  as 
yet  no  Government.  Such  is  the  anxiety  and  un- 
certainty among  officials  in  the  interior  of  Anatolia, 
that  we  should  not  be  permitted  to  travel  if  we  were 
there.  Still  I  wished  to  keep  our  case  before  the 
English  officials,  so  that  they  may  take  the  first  oppor- 
tunity of  procuring  orders  for  us,  which  they  very 


Arrest  of  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din  117 

courteously  promised  to  do,  though  they  stated  that 
they  could  not  advise  us  to  go,  and  that  no  one  should 
travel  in  Anatolia  at  present,  unless  he  possessed  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  the  country. 

I  have  been  trying  to  get  introductions  to  some  of  the 
leaders  of  the  victorious  party  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing travelling  orders,  but  have  not  as  yet  succeeded. 
Every  one  is  still  too  busy  with  the  pressing  needs  of 
the  moment.  There  is  nothing  but  military  power 
and  military  law.  Generals  have  no  time  to  spend  on 
savants. 

I  saw  the  Ambassador  himself  for  two  minutes,  as 
he  wished  to  hear  the  news  about  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din. 
He  said  that  the  authorities  would  not  do  anything  to 
him.  [This  forecast  was  verified  by  the  events  of  the 
following  day.] 

Sir  W.  Whittall  tells  me,  as  a  good  omen  of  the 
future,  that  General  von  der  Goltz,  writing  in  the  Neue 
Freie  Presse,  which  he  often  uses  as  an  organ  for 
expressing  his  views  on  Turkey,  both  in  his  own  name 
and  it  is  said  anonymously  (as  in  the  case  already 
described),  strongly  recommends  the  victorious  Com- 
mittee of  Union  and  Progress  to  refrain  from  vindic- 
tive action  against  the  Liberals.  If  this  public  utter- 
ance accurately  represents  the  settled  policy  and  counsel 
of  Germany  (as  people  believe  is  the  case),  things  are 
likely  to  go  well,  for  Germany  will  for  a  time  be  more 
influential  in  Turkey  under  the  Young  Turks  than  she 
ever  was  under  Abd-ul-Hamid. 

To-day  we  had  a  remarkable  proof,  if  one  were 
needed,  that  the  Young  Turks  know  how  to  keep 


n8  Tuesday,  April  27 

their  plans  secret,  and  to  act  quickly  and  strongly.  At 
11.30  A.M.  I  was  talking  in  Pera  with  some  persons 
who  know  most  of  what  goes  on.  They  had  no  idea 
that  a  great  event  was  in  progress  at  the  moment,  for 
they  were  speculating  about  what  might  happen  to  the 
Sultan  and  when.  Then  I  hurried  over  to  Stamboul, 
where  I  had  an  appointment  to  meet  my  wife  and 
daughter  at  the  Museum  at  noon,  but  found  the  place 
absolutely  empty  except  for  two  German  tourists  and 
the  Turkish  attendants.  I  asked  the  attendants  one 
by  one  separately  about  two  European  ladies  who 
were  to  have  been  here  this  morning,  but  all  main- 
tained that  no  one  answering  to  the  description  had 
entered  the  Museum  that  day.  I  then  sat  in  the 
Porch,  shaded  from  the  sun,  which  was  very  hot,  and 
proceeded  to  work  at  an  article  which  I  had  in  hand. 
A  missionary  whom  I  recognised,  accompanied,  by  a 
clergyman,  evidently  a  stranger  to  Constantinople, 
came  up  to  the  Museum,  but  entered  without  observ- 
ing the  figure  in  an  attendant's  chair  in  the  Porch, 
and  left  after  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  having  evi- 
dently some  pressing  engagement.  No  other  visitor 
appeared,  and  about  12.40  I  left,  and  had  the  rare 
and  unhoped-for  good  luck  to  find  an  empty  cab 
driving  past  the  outer  gate.  I  took  my  seat  in  it, 
and  drove  down  to  the  Galata  Bridge,  intending  to 
go  to  the  Club  in  Pera.  In  a  few  minutes  I  was 
stopped  by  a  dense  crowd  where  a  cross-road  leads 
up  from  a  landing-stage  outside  the  Golden  Horn 
towards  the  Ministry  of  War  and  other  important  places 
in  the  heart  of  Stamboul.  Nobody  in  the  crowd 


Public  Appearance  of  the  new  Sultan       1 1 9 

could  tell  what  was  the  reason,  but  a  line  of  soldiers 
on  each  side  of  the  cross-street  were  keeping  guard 
and  forbidding  passage.  Several  carriages  of  tourists 
were  held  up  beside  me,  but  soon  they  all  turned 
back,  as  the  dragomans  concluded  that  they  must 
try  to  pass  some  other  way,  or  alter  the  order  of 
the  sight-seeing.  Had  they  known  that  a  unique 
event  was  expected  soon  to  happen  they  would  all 
have  waited  patiently.  I  took  out  my  MS.  and 
proceeded  to  write  my  article  on  First  Timothy.  A 
friend,  one  of  the  many  Whittalls  who  constitute  a 
European  army  of  occupation  all  over  the  country, 
noticed  me  as  he  passed,  and  told  in  the  evening  at 
Moda  on  the  Asiatic  side  that  he  had  seen  me  sitting 
in  a  cab,  wedged  amid  a  dense  crowd  of  natives,  and 
evidently  unaware  of  aught  that  was  going  on  around, 
while  my  driver  smoked  a  cirgarette  on  the  box. 

After  about  half  an  hour  the  guards  opened  a  way 
for  one  minute  to  allow  some  great  functionary  to  cross 
to  our  side ;  my  driver  seized  the  opportunity  to  push 
forward,  and  the  soldiers,  with  some  hesitation  and 
after  seeming  to  be  on  the  point  of  arresting  or 
striking  him,  allowed  him  to  pass,  when  he  explained 
that  he  was  conveying  a  European  on  an  affair  of 
pressing  urgency.  The  orders  to  the  soldiers  evi- 
dently are  to  avoid  carefully  anything  that  could  cause 
complications  with  Europeans,  and  probably  I  was 
taken  for  some  Embassy  official  in  a  hurry.  Had 
they  refused  permission  I  should  have  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  see  the  new  Sultan's  procession  pass  up 
from  the  Scala  to  the  Ministry  of  War.  What 


I2O  Tuesday,  April  27 

seemed  at  the  moment  a  piece  of  great  luck  turned 
out  to  be  a  misfortune,  as  is  often  the  way  in  life. 
The  scene  which  I  missed  was  the  most  striking  and 
dramatic  event  I  had  had  the  opportunity  of  witness- 
ing since  February,  1878,  when  I  chanced  to  be  in 
Rome  during  the  week  when  Victor  Emmanuel  and 
Pio  Nono  both  died,  and  saw  the  entry  on  office  of 
the  new  King  and  the  new  Pope.  The  old  reign  in 
Constantinople  had  ended,  and  the  new  reign  was 
beginning  with  the  ceremony  for  which  the  guards 
were  preparing.  The  whole  proceeding  had  taken 
place  without  any  one  in  Constantinople  realising 
till  the  last  moment  what  was  about  to  happen. 

The  crowds  near  and  on  the  Bridge  were  great, 
and  on  the  way  towards  Pera,  I  passed  at  intervals 
bodies  of  palace  servants  and  soldiers  of  the  Yildiz 
guard,  who  were  being  conducted  to  Stamboul  under 
charge  of  the  soldiers  of  Liberty ;  also  cavalry  and 
guns  and  all  the  preparations  for  a  scene  of  pomp  and 
display.  Yildiz  had  been  starved  out  and  had  sur- 
rendered unconditionally.  The  Fetva  of  deposition 
had  been  issued.1  The  Chamber  had  accepted  the 
act,  and  had  appointed  the  new  Sultan,  who  was  now 
actually  in  power.  It  was  impossible  for  a  carriage  to 
make  its  way  towards  the  Bridge,  and  I  had  great 
difficulty  in  finding  my  way  across  on  foot.  My  wife 
and  daughter  were  watching  the  scene  here ;  they 

1  It  is  said  that  the  question  put  to  the  Fetva-Emine  (after  the 
fashion  described  in  the  diary  yesterday)  is  identical  in  form  with 
that  which  was  used  in  the  deposition  of  Abd-ul-Aziz.  This 
illustrates  the  formal  character  of  the  procedure. 


Clearing  out   Yildiz  Palace  121 

had  occasion  to  go  up  into  Pera  before  coming  to  the 
Museum ;  and  I  quote  from  the  former  a  description 
of  what  occurred. 

11  Near  the  Bridge  the  streets  are  always  more  or  less 
crowded,  and  we  noticed  nothing  unusual  until  we 
reached  the  top  of  the  short  street  that  leads  directly 
up  towards  Pera,  from  which  you  turn  off  to  the 
right  if  you  wish  to  take  the  tramway.  Here  a  good 
big  crowd  was  collected  and  was  momentarily  increas- 
ing. A  number  of  soldiers,  among  whom  the  white 
caps  of  the  Macedonian  volunteers  were  conspicuous, 
were  keeping  the  street  that  led  towards  the  tramway 
clear  of  traffic,  and  a  'chaush,'  or  sergeant,  politely 
but  firmly  informed  us  that  there  was  no  passage  that 
way,  and  if  we  wanted  to  go  to  Pera  we  must  either 
go  straight  up  a  steep  street  opposite  us,  which  is 
a  short-cut,  but  unpleasant  on  a  hot  day,  or  keep 
to  the  left.  Evidently  something  was  happening. 
Our  getting  to  Pera  was  a  very  secondary  considera- 
tion, if  there  was  anything  interesting  to  prevent  us. 
We  took  our  stand  at  the  corner,  on  the  edge  of  the 
side-walk.  Luckily  we  were  on  the  shady  side  of  the 
street,  for  it  was  a  blazing  hot  day.  Soon  the  crowd 
was  a  solid  mass,  for  people  kept  coming  and  coming 
and  nobody  seemed  to  go.  The  steep  street  opposite, 
that  to  the  left,  and  both  sides  of  the  street  that  was 
being  kept  clear,  were  all  closely  packed.  Carriages 
and  carts  coming  up  from  the  quays  were  all  turned 
back.  Only  a  few  that  had  come  early  had  stopped 
and  were  wedged  into  the  crowd.  Now  and  then  a 
little  band  of  mounted  soldiers  would  tear  past  at  a 


122  Tuesday,  April  27 

gallop  in  one  direction  or  another.  Once  there  was  a 
sudden  noise  like  the  rattle  of  musketry  that  made 
people  jump ;  but  it  was  only  the  iron  shutters  of  a 
big  Austrian  warehouse  at  the  opposite  corner  being 
hauled  down  for  fear  the  pressure  of  the  crowd  should 
break  the  windows.  The  crowd,  as  is  the  manner  of 
Turkish  crowds,  was  perfectly  quiet,  orderly  and 
patient.  When  the  soldiers  galloped  past  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  hand-clapping.  I  asked  the  sergeant, 
who  was  close  to  us  all  the  time,  what  was  going  to 
happen,  and  he  whispered  back  behind  his  hand, 
'They  are  bringing  them  down  from  Yildiz,'  which 
filled  us  with  wild  excitement.  But  when  a  Turk  who 
had  heard  my  question  but  had  not  caught  the  answer 
made  the  same  inquiry  the  old  fellow  merely  replied 
with  a  shrug,  '  Bakaloum ' — '  Let  us  see '. 

"It  was  true.  They  were  bringing  'them'  from 
Yildiz !  The  palace  had  capitulated !  Abd-ul-Hamid 
had  fallen !  And  at  the  palace  not  a  shot  had  been 
fired !  And  so  well  had  the  Young  Turks  kept  their 
counsel  that  even  at  the  Embassies  very  few  knew 
what  was  taking  place  till  it  was  an  accomplished  fact. 
We  knew  afterwards  that  for  three  days  the  supply  of 
water  and  gas  had  been  cut  off  from  the  palace,  and 
that  the  inhabitants  were  practically  starving;  for  so 
certain  had  the  Sultan  been  of  success,  or  so  incapable 
of  making  plans  for  the  future,  that  absolutely  no 
provision  had  been  made  for  a  siege.  The  stars  in 
their  courses  fought  against  Sisera ! 

"  Suddenly  a  thrill  seemed  to  run  through  the  crowd. 
A  carriage  appeared  coming  rapidly  along  the  street — 


Clearing  out   Yildiz  Palace  123 

then  another  and  another  and  another.  They  were 
the  little  open  carriages  that  ply  in  the  streets.  There 
were  fifteen  of  them  and  they  were  bringing  the 
Sultan's  eunuchs  from  the  palace  to  the  prison  at  the 
Ministry  of  War — or  such  of  them  as  had  remained  in 
the  palace.  Many  of  them  and  many  of  the  other 
servants  had,  it  was  said,  already  fled.  In  each 
carriage  were  three  eunuchs,  guarded  by  two  soldiers, 
one  inside  and  one  on  the  box,  each  holding  his  rifle 
with  fixed  bayonet  between  his  knees.  There  was 
not  the  faintest  demonstration,  either  of  disapproval  or 
pleasure,  as  the  little  procession  rolled  rapidly  past. 
The  dark  faces  all  looked  downcast  and  depressed, 
and  some  of  them  were  pathetically  young.  They 
appeared  to  be  as  neatly  attired  as  usual,  and  their 
stiff  white  collars  were  conspicuous  and  many  of  them 
wore  gloves.  I  have  often  observed  the  palace 
eunuchs.  Except  for  the  fez  they  always  dressed  in 
the  extreme  of  European  fashion,  with  the  very  latest 
thing  in  collars  and  ties.  As  we  watched  the  last 
carriage  disappear  a  Turk  standing  by  my  side  said 
to  me  in  a  tone  of  satisfaction,  '  Well !  That's  the  last 
of  their  game  ! '  Then  I  remembered  my  camera— 
but  only  in  time  for  a  hasty  snap,  all  out  of  focus. 

"  There  was  a  long  interval  before  anything  else  ap- 
peared. We  chatted  with  the  soldiers  and  the  people 
near  us,  who  were  all  very  friendly  and  (seeing  we 
were  strangers)  ready  to  give  us  all  the  information 
they  could.  The  sun  became  hotter  and  hotter,  and 
the  people  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  street  must  have 
found  it  almost  unbearable.  Some  kind-hearted  shop- 


124  Tuesday,  April  27 

keepers  sent  out  seats  for  the  soldiers,  and  it  was  rather 
comic  to  see  them  keeping  guard  seated  on  wooden 
stools  with  green  velvet  cushions.  Our  sergeant 
seated  himself  on  the  edge  of  the  pavement  at  my  feet, 
where  he  was  joined  by  another.  The  latter  held  his 
rifle  against  his  shoulder  in  such  a  position  that,  when- 
ever I  glanced  down,  I  looked  right  into  the  barrel. 
Presumably  it  was  loaded,  and  if  by  some  chance  it 
had  gone  off,  it  would  certainly  have  been  unpleasant 
for  me.  The  crowd  behind  kept  me  from  moving 
back,  especially  a  very  ponderous  Greek  who,  ap- 
parently overcome  by  heat  and  fatigue,  supported 
himself  by  leaning  against  me.  I  was  much  relieved 
when  at  duty's  call  the  man  with  the  gun  at  length  rose 
and  went  away.  Sometimes  a  horseman  would  pass 
up  or  down,  sometimes  a  little  band  of  soldiers  with 
their  knapsacks  and  water-bottles — evidently  bound 
for  some  post  of  duty.  That  did  not,  however,  prevent 
them  from  stopping  now  and  then  to  interchange 
greetings  with  friends  in  the  street,  and  after  an 
affectionate  hug  they  would  run  after  their  comrades. 
Occasionally  a  water-seller  would  appear,  clinking  his 
glasses,  and  give  a  drink  to  one  of  the  soldiers  or  to 
some  one  in  the  crowd ;  and  just  behind  us  was  a 
lemonade  shop  which  did  a  roaring  trade,  those  near- 
est politely  handing  the  glasses  to  the  others  and  pass- 
ing back  the  money — ten  'para'  (one  halfpenny)  per 
glass. 

"  At  last  our  patience  was  rewarded.  Another  pro- 
cession hove  in  sight.  This  time  it  was  the  palace 
servants — the  cooks  and  scullions,  the  bakers  and 


Clearing  out   Yildiz  Palace  125 

sweepers,  the  'cafe-jis'  and  'chibouk-jis,'  the  nonde- 
script hangers-on  and  all  the  rag-tag  and  bobtail  of  an 
Oriental  royal  household.  There  were  some  three 
hundred  of  them — old  and  young  and  middle-aged — 
all  clad  in  European  dress  and  more  or  less  dirty, 
shabby  and  unkempt.  They  were  a  pitiful  sight  as 
they  shuffled  along  between  the  two  lines  of  soldiers 
that  guarded  them,  dejected,  frightened,  hang-dog- 
looking  creatures.  Whether  any  of  the  Sultan's 
special  employees — the  ruffians  whose  duty  it  was  to 
drown  or  strangle  his  victims — were  among  them  I 
do  not  know.  As  I  have  already  mentioned,  many 
members  of  the  royal  household  had  before  this  taken 
flight.  No  demonstration  of  any  kind  was  made  by 
the  crowd  as  they  passed.  The  friendly  'chaush' 
and  the  other  soldiers  near  us  willingly  allowed  me  to 
step  into  the  street  and  take  a  couple  of  snapshots  with 
my  camera. 

"  There  was  another  period  of  waiting,  and  then  ap- 
peared the  last  procession  of  prisoners — the  soldiers 
who  had  been  made  to  lay  down  their  arms  without 
firing  a  shot  or  striking  a  blow.  They  still  wore  their 
dark  blue  uniform,  but  neither  belts  nor  arms ;  but 
they  looked  to  me  quite  jolly  and  cheerful,  and  they 
marched  gaily  along  between  their  escorts  with  any- 
thing but  the  air  of  having  been  beaten. 

"  We  hoped  that  Abd-ul-Hamid  himself  might  come 
next,  and  so  did  a  good  many  other  people.  Nobody 
knew  for  a  while  whether  he  would  be  brought  by  this 
way  or  not.  Our  expectation  rose  high  when  some 
half-dozen  of  the  royal  carriages  dashed  down  the 


126  Tuesday,  April  27 

street ;  but  they  were  all  empty,  and  after  a  little  they 
returned  as  they  had  gone.  There  was  a  thunderous 
clapping  of  hands  as  a  company  of  young  soldiers  from 
the  Military  College  now  appeared,  preceded  by  a 
brass  band,  and  followed  by  their  officers  on  horseback. 
One  of  the  first  carried  a  huge  banner  of  red  satin 
embroidered  in  white.  Gun  on  shoulder,  with  their 
neat  brown  uniform,  and  their  smooth  boyish  faces 
surmounted  by  the  scarlet  fez,  they  presented  a  most 
captivating  appearance.  But  they  might  one  and  all 
have  been  deaf  for  any  sign  they  made  of  hearing  the 
rapturous  greeting  with  which  they  were  received. 
Not  one  moved  a  muscle.  Constantinople  is  proud, 
and  justly  proud,  of  these  lads,  whose  duty  it  was  dur- 
ing that  period  of  danger  and  fear  to  preserve  order 
in  the  city,  guard  the  foreign  Embassies,  and  maintain 
communication  between  the  troops  quartered  in  the 
different  districts  of  the  town — a  duty  they  admirably 
fulfilled.  Next  came  a  carriage  with  a  solitary  occu- 
pant in  uniform.  It  was  Galib  Bey,  the  commandant 
of  the  gendarmerie. 

"  More  troops  followed  (some  led  by  bands  of  music) 
and  were  greeted  in  the  same  way.  But  the  en- 
thusiasm reached  its  highest  pitch  when  a  small  band 
of  mounted  officers,  escorting  'the  Hero,'  Enver  Bey, 
cantered  past.  The  evacuation  of  the  palace  now 
seemed  to  be  complete.  We  had  heard  a  day  or  two 
before  that  most  of  the  women  had  been  sent  away 
from  Yildiz  to  different  palaces  and  houses  belonging 
to  the  Sultan  or  members  of  his  family.  But  in  any 
case  they  would  not  have  been  made  to  pass  through 


VIII.— P.  126. 


Pupils  of  the  Military  College  serving  in  the  Army  of  Liberty. 


Rejoicing  in  the  Streets  127 

the  streets.     No  Mohammedan  puts  a  public  indignity 
upon  women. 

"  Troops  now  began  to  pass  up  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion, along  with  gun-carriages,  some  drawn  by  horses, 
some  by  oxen.  Then  the  soldiers  who  were  keeping 
the  street  clear  were  withdrawn,  and  the  crowd  began 
to  disperse.  We  had  been  standing  at  the  street 
corner  for  four  hours.  With  many  others  of  the  dis- 
solving crowd  we  made  our  way  to  the  tramway,  and 
after  some  delay  found  seats.  The  car  was  open  at 
the  sides,  and  the  passengers — about  fifteen  in  number 
— included  seven  volunteers,  probably  just  relieved 
from  duty.  They  were  in  high  spirits  and  soon  began 
to  sing  the  new  '  National  Song  of  Liberty,'  which 
attracted  the  attention  of  people  in  the  street,  who 
showed  their  sympathy  and  approval  in  the  usual  way 
— by  loudly  clapping  their  hands.  This  encouraged 
the  gay  youths  to  further  demonstrations  of  jubilation, 
and  they  began  firing  their  guns  into  the  air,  first  on 
one  side  then  on  the  other,  to  the  great  alarm  of 
some  of  their  fellow-passengers  and  the  still  greater 
alarm  of  the  passers-by,  who  were  really  in  danger 
from  the  falling  bullets.  Luckily  after  one  shot  each 
they  did  not  seem  to  think  of  reloading,  and  no  dam- 
age was  done. 

41  By  this  time  the  streets  were  gay  with  flags.  From 
almost  every  window,  high  or  low,  one  seemed  to 
flutter.  The  foreign  Consulates  and  post-offices  dis- 
played their  national  colours — except  the  British,  which 
were,  so  far,  conspicuously  bare.  While  still  at  our 
post  of  observation  we  had  heard  the  boom  of  a  single 


128  Wednesday,  April  28 

big  gun  from  the  direction  of  Stamboul,  but  we  did 
not  know  till  later  that  this  announced  the  nomination 
of  the  new  Sultan.  The  news  had  spread  through  the 
city,  however  ;  hence  these  signs  of  joy.  The  Grande 
Rue  of  Pera  is  always  lively,  brilliant  and  crowded 
in  the  afternoons  of  early  summer.  Except  for  the 
display  of  flags,  the  casual  observer  would  hardly  have 
seen  anything  unusual  in  its  aspect,  or  guessed  that 
one  of  the  most  momentous  events  in  the  history  of 
the  city  had  just  taken  place.  Leaving  the  car  we 
made  our  way  on  foot  to  Mulatier's,  and  there  refreshed 
ourselves  with  a  cup  of  the  delicious  chocolate  for 
which  that  well-known  establishment  is  renowned." 

Wednesday,  April  28. — We  learn  this  morning 
that  the  Ministry,  announced  in  some  of  yesterday 
evening's  papers,  was  not  appointed.  No  step  was 
decided  on,  and  Tewfik  and  the  other  Ministers  still 
continue  to  hold  office.  Such  are  the  surprises  and 
changes  that  go  on  from  hour  to  hour  here. 

To-day  was  an  idle  time,  so  far  as  politics  are  con- 
cerned. Nothing  took  place.  But  idleness  in  politics 
is  highly  advantageous  to  one's  private  work. 

Some  people  say  that  the  troubles  are  now  ended. 
According  to  others,  it  would  be  nearer  the  truth  to 
say  that  the  troubles  are  now  beginning.  Those  who 
hold  this  opinion  point  out  that  the  victors  have  been 
trampling  on  religious  feeling  in  a  dangerous  way. 
Prayer  must  give  way  to  military  regulations.  The 
soldiers  must  be  ready  to  fire  on  priests,  if  ordered  to 
do  so.  It  is  at  least  unwise  to  publish  that  the  party 
contemplates  the  possibility  of  firing  on  the  priests  and 


Situation  in  Asiatic   Turkey  129 

that  it  regards  the  priests  as  its  enemies.  They  ask 
if  such  a  policy  can  safely  be  carried  out  in  a  Moham- 
medan country,  and  argue  that  the  Mutiny  of  I3th 
April  proves  the  danger  to  be  real  and  serious,  when 
even  the  faithful  Chasseurs  of  Salonica  joined  in  the 
revolt.  At  any  moment  a  similar  explosion  of  religious 
feeling  might  occur.  They  ask  especially  what  will 
be  the  attitude  of  Anatolia,  which  has  always  been 
strongly  susceptible  to  religious  enthusiasm,  and  which 
contains  material  for  a  great  army.  Those  authorities 
whose  opinions  I  am  quoting  believe  that  the  disrup- 
tion of  Turkey  with  a  civil  war  between  religious 
Anatolia  and  irreligious  European  Turkey  is  a  possi- 
bility of  the  near  future. 

If  these  views  are  right  it  would  be  most  unwise  for 
us  to  go  off  to  travel  in  Anatolia  at  the  present  time. 
I  shall  therefore  set  down  my  reasons  for  disagreeing, 
and  for  believing  that  there  is  no  reason  why  one  who 
is  an  experienced  traveller  should  not  go  about  in 
Anatolia  at  the  present  time,  provided  he  takes  proper 
care.  The  people  who  speak  like  this  reason  without 
taking  into  account  one  fundamental  fact,  viz.,  the 
immobility  of  the  Anatolians,  their  fatalism  and  their 
habit  of  accepting  the  existing  situation,  whatever  it  is, 
as  the  will  of  God.  They  could  easily  have  been 
induced  to  fight  for  the  old  Sultan.  One  of  the  most 
extraordinary  features  of  the  situation  is  that  steps 
were  not  taken  immediately  after  the  Mutiny  to  rouse 
the  Anatolian  Turks,  and  bring  a  new  army  of  them 
to  Constantinople.  One  cannot  understand  how  it 
came  about  that  the  fomenters  of  the  Mutiny  paid  no 

9 


130  Wednesday,  April  28 

attention  to  Anatolia,  where  their  power  and  their 
best  chance  of  success  lay.  That  was  not  an  un- 
known or  doubtful  matter ;  it  was  one  of  the  funda- 
mental facts  of  the  situation  ;  it  was  the  thing  that 
occurred  at  once  to  the  mind  of  every  one  in  Constanti- 
nople. In  Salonica  the  Committee  of  Union  and 
Progress  was  fully  alive  to  the  danger,  and  took  such 
steps  as  were  in  their  power  to  prevent  it  by  sending 
agents  into  the  Asiatic  Provinces  (as  was  stated 
publicly  in  the  newspapers).  But  agents  of  the 
Reaction,  who  were  much  closer  to  Asia,  could  have 
been  easily  first  on  the  ground ;  anH,  if  the  feeling  in 
Anatolia  was  so  overwhelmingly  in  favour  of  Religion 
and  the  Reaction,  they  could  have  had  no  difficulty 
in  bringing  the  whole  population  over  to  their  side. 

Moreover,  it  is  said  on  all  hands  now  that  the 
terrible  massacres  in  Adana  were  fomented  by  agents 
sent  out  from  the  palace  by  the  Reactionaries,  with  or 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  Sultan.  If  the  Reac- 
tionaries already  before  the  Mutiny  were  thinking  of 
Adana,  they  must  also  have  had  their  minds  directed 
to  the  nearer  parts  of  Anatolia ;  and  it  cannot  have 
been  so  easy  to  rouse  Anatolian  feeling  to  support  them 
actively,  even  when  the  Sultan  was  still  reigning,  and 
was  believed  to  be  favourable  to  the  Reaction.  There 
are  here  difficulties  which  cannot  readily  be  explained  ; 
and,  as  we  hope  to  start  in  a  day  or  two  on  a  journey 
in  Asiatic  Turkey,  it  is  as  well  to  have  the  questions 
clearly  formulated  before  one  starts.  Was  any  attempt 
made  to  rouse  the  Asiatic  Turks  to  support  the 
Sultan  and  the  Reaction  ?  If  the  attempt  was  made, 


IX.— P.  130. 


Young  Turk  Sentinels  on  the  Anatolian  Railway. 


Situation  in  Asiatic  Turkey  131 

why  was  it  unsuccessful?  Now  that  the  Sultan  is 
dethroned,  is  there  any  prospect  of  a  split  between 
Anatolia  and  European  Turkey  on  the  religious 
question  ;  and,  if  such  a  split  should  take  place,  would 
it  assume  the  form  of  an  attempt  to  restore  the  old 
Sultan  ? 

We  had  a  long  conversation  to-day  with  Kiamil 
Pasha,  who  went  into  retirement  when  the  Young 
Turks  entered  Constantinople.  It  was  a  mistake, 
unsuitable  to  his  character  and  position  to  do  this  ; 
and  he  himself  was  strongly  opposed  to  it.  He 
rightly  wished  to  remain  in  his  own  house,  and  face 
the  situation  ;  but  his  family  persuaded  him  to  retire. 
The  last  time  I  had  seen  him  was  in  1901  in  Smyrna, 
when  he  gave  me  a  most  useful  letter  of  introduction 
to  a  high  Turkish  official.  He  has  greatly  aged  in 
the  interval.  He  told  us  many  interesting  things 
about  the  situation,  which  I  do  not  feel  justified  in 
quoting,  but  which  were  very  instructive.  He  has 
been  thrice  Grand  Vizier,  and  has  governed  important 
Provinces  of  the  Empire  from  Aleppo  to  Smyrna. 
He  has  seen  as  many  men  and  as  many  cities  as 
Ulysses,  and  observed  them  with  a  wise,  kindly,  yet 
resolute  mind  ;  and  it  is  no  small  thing  to  have  the 
opportunity  of  hearing  him  tell  what  he  has  seen  and 
known.  He  had  also  some  curious  stories  about 
astrologers,  who  to  his  own  personal  knowledge  had 
predicted  that  Abd-ul-Hamid  would  reign  just  thirty- 
three  years.  One  told  him  last  January  that  the 
Sultan's  end  would  come  in  April.  He  returned  to 
his  house  in  town  to-day  after  our  interview. 


132  Thursday,  April  29 

In  Pera  I  called  on  Mr.  Pears 1  to  ask  about  books 
for  my  daughter,  who  has  been  working  up  the 
topography  of  Constantinople  and  the  Bosphorus. 
He  lent  one  unprocurable  description  of  the  Bos- 
phorus coasts  ;  and  I  have  been  able  to  buy  his 
History  of  the  Fall  of  Constantinople  :  his  other  book 
on  the  Latin  Conquest  of  the  city  cannot  be  got. 
He  kindly  offered  to  act  as  our  guide  along  the  walls  ; 
and  Friday  after  the  Selamlik  was  fixed  for  the  excur- 
sion. I  have  twice  visited  the  walls ;  but  Margaret 
has  not  yet  seen  them. 

Thursday,  April  29. — Over  in  Pera  to-day  the 
report  was  widely  spread  that  a  man  had  been  hanged 
by  order  of  the  Government  at  dawn,  and  that  his 
body  was  still  suspended  at  the  Stamboul  end  of 
Galata  Bridge.  I  was  calling  at  the  office  in  Galata 
of  one  of  the  best-known  English  residents,  when  the 
matter  was  reported  as  a  fact  about  10  A.M.  ;  and  I 
mentioned  that  I  had  landed  on  the  Bridge  a  short 
time  before  and  had  seen  no  gallows  and  no  man 
hanging ;  but  I  had  been  only  at  the  Galata  end, 
and  might  conceivably  have  failed  to  observe  what 
was  really  the  case.  A  clerk  was  sent  off  at  once  to 
learn  the  truth.  He  returned  in  a  few  minutes  to  say 
that  the  toll-collectors  had  not  seen  or  heard  anything 
of  an  execution  on  the  Bridge  or  elsewhere.  Yet  the 
story  flew  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  was  widely 
accepted  for  some  hours. 

[The  report  was  a  good  instance  of  coming  events 

1  Since  that  time,  Sir  Edwin  Pears. 


The  Old  Sultan  Deported  133 

casting  their  shadow  before  them.  Within  a  few  days 
it  came  true,  and  at  intervals  for  several  months 
similar  executions  took  place.] 

The  appointment  of  the  new  Ministry  is  necessarily 
postponed  for  a  few  days,  and  the  existing  Ministry 
under  Tewfik  continues  till  the  formal  proceedings  of 
the  new  reign  are  begun  in  proper  order.  It  is  antici- 
pated that  the  new  Ministry  will  consist  entirely  of 
Young  Turkish  partisans ;  but  Ahmed  Riza  is  not  , 
thought  likely  to  be  Vizier.  He  has  no  official  ex- 
perience ;  he  is  a  poor  man  ;  and  through  quick  temper 
he  was  led  into  some  acts,  as  President  of  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  which  even  his  friends  did  not  approve. 
I  hear  from  people  who  know  him  intimately  that  in 
private  life  he  bears  and  deserves  a  very  high  char- 
acter, that  he  is  thoroughly  honest  and  patriotic,  and  that 
tales  of  his  being  an  unprincipled  person  are  mere  lies. 

Two  important  events  of  the  best  augury  are  made 
known  to-day.  In  the  first  place  the  Sultan  was  sent 
off  by  special  train  to  Salonica  at  2  A.M.,  with  a  retinue 
of  about  twenty-five  to  thirty  (including  ladies  and 
attendants).  It  is  expected  that  pressure  will  be  put 
on  him  to  give  up  the  money  which  he  is  believed  to 
have  deposited  in  foreign  banks  (especially  London 
and  New  York  are  mentioned).  The  story  is  that 
three  million  pounds  are  hoped  for  from  him,  but  his 
signature  is  needed  to  recover  the  money.  How  far 
the  expectation  is  based  on  real  facts  of  money  de- 
posited abroad  is,  of  course,  uncertain.1 

1  [In  the  beginning  of  July  we  were  told  at  Constantinople  that 
;£i, 600,000  had  been  recovered  in  this  way  from  foreign  Banks, 


134  Thursday,  April  29 

The  most  striking  detail  among  the  many  concomi- 
tants of  fallen  greatness  was  that,  when  the  Deputies 
went  to  inform  the  Sultan  of  his  deposition,  he 
asked  first  of  all  for  life — nothing  but  life — and  that  his 
women  should  not  be  made  to  go  publicly  through  the 
streets.  Then  he  begged  for  the  assurance  of  a 
personal  guarantee ;  and  one  of  the  delegates,  a  Jewish 
merchant  of  Salonica,  replied  :  "  I  will  guarantee  your 
life  ".  It  would  be,  if  true,  a  striking  example  of  the 
new  conditions  ruling  here,  that  a  Jew  should  answer 
for  the  life  of  the  Ottoman  Sultan.1  Other  signs  of 
the  new  era  are  that  the  ceremonial  on  admission  to 
the  presence  of  the  new  Sultan  has  been  fixed  by  the 
Chamber  as  shaking  hands  ;  there  is  to  be  no  more  kiss- 
ing of  the  hem  of  the  garment  and  other  marks  of  abject 
submission.  Also  he  is  to  limit  his  harem  to  four  wives  ; 
this  will  cut  off  one  of  the  greatest  expenses  and  the 
worst  evils  in  the  whole  Imperial  system. 

The  demeanour  of  the  fallen  Sultan  is  said  to  have 
been  thoroughly  selfish  and  cowardly,  and  has  roused 
only  contempt.  He  showed  no  trace  of  greatness  or 
nobility  in  misfortune. 

The  second  of  the  happy  announcements  came  this 
afternoon.  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din  has  been  released, 
an  apology  made  to  him,  and  an  explanation  given 

and  that  this  was  believed  to  be  the  whole ;  but  at  a  later  time 
stories  were  still  current  about  further  deposits,  which  were  still 
not  recovered.] 

1  [This  was  an  incorrect  account,  though  widely  circulated,  and 
published  in  many  newspapers  in  the  city.  The  exact  facts  are 
described  later  in  the  day.] 


Release  of  Prince  Sabah-ed-Din  135 

that  his  arrest  was  due  to  mistake.  The  explanation 
is  official,  and  means  that  the  policy  of  mercy  has 
triumphed  over  the  policy  of  revenge.  The  event 
justifies  entirely  the  anticipation  of  the  Ambassador 
when  he  heard  of  the  arrest  (as  mentioned  on  Tuesday). 

It  is  said  that  the  comments  made  in  Paris  on  the 
arrest  were  the  cause  of  the  release.  It  was  said  there 
to  be  like  a  satire  on  the  new  system,  that  one  of  the 
first  acts  under  the  new  order  should  be  to  arrest  and 
try  the  man  who  stood  out  before  Europe,  and  especi- 
ally before  Paris,  as  one  of  the  chief  sufferers  from  the 
old  system  and  as  a  leading  spirit  in  the  preparation 
of  the  Revolution.  The  Turks  are  very  sensitive 
to  opinion  abroad,  and  anxious  to  stand  well  with  it. 

Whatever  be  the  cause,  the  release  is  a  very 
fortunate  event,  which  promises  well  for  the  future. 
After  all,  the  Turks  are  the  people  in  this  country 
whom  one  respects  most  and  loves  best ;  and  one 
wishes  well  to  them  with  all  one's  heart;  but  they 
have  often  been  their  own  worst  enemies,  and  it  is  not 
easy  to  take  anything  but  an  anxious  view  of  their 
future. 

In  very  well-informed  quarters  it  is  reported  that 
orders  were  issued  and  all  preparations  made  for  a 
general  massacre  in  Constantinople  on  the  night  of 
last  Friday.  The  anxiety  felt  in  a  vague  way  by  the 
orderly  population  of  the  city  was  fully  j  ustified.  E  very- 
thing  was  ready,  but  news  of  this  was  carried  to  the 
investing  army,  and  their  attack  was  hurried  on  to 
prevent  the  catastrophe.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the 
Kurd  porters  were  gnashing  their  teeth  in  disappointed 


136  Thursday,  April  29 

fury  all  Saturday  and  the  following  days  under  the 
watchful  restraint  of  armed  sentinels  posted  at  every 
corner  and  at  frequent  intervals  along  the  streets.1 

It  is  also  reported  that  the  terrible  massacres,  quite 
unusual  in  scale  even  for  Abd-ul-Hamid's  reign,  at 
Adana  and  the  neighbouring  towns  broke  out  after 
the  arrival  of  a  soldier  of  the  Sultan's  bodyguard  ;  a 
very  high  officer  stated  that  this  fact  was  certain  and 
would  be  fully  proved  at  a  public  investigation.  Of 
course,  there  will  be  naturally  a  tendency  to  throw  on 
the  fallen  Sultan  the  blame  for  all  the  calamities  of  the 
last  fortnight,  and  to  produce  the  impression  that  his 
object  was  to  show  to  the  world  that  interference  with 
the  established  authority  was  producing  anarchy  and 
massacre  everywhere.2  But  the  reports  which  I  have 
quoted  come  from  good  sources  and  are  entirely  in 
agreement  with  the  policy  of  Abd-ul-Hamid  in  the 
past ;  and  it  would  be  quite  probable  that  he  should 
make  up  his  mind  to  a  universal  massacre  of  Christians, 
when  the  Army  of  Freedom  was  marching  against  him, 
with  the  vague  idea  that  something  for  his  advantage 
would  come  out  of  the  ruin  (as  has  always  been  the 
result  in  the  past).  He  had  20,000  troops  in  Con- 
stantinople on  Friday,  whom  he  believed  to  be  devoted 
to  him,  and  who  would  be  all  the  more  faithful  after 

1  [Subsequent  information  established  beyond  question  the  fact 
that  this  massacre  was  intended :   it  is  one  of  the  things  that 
everybody  knows,  but  which  cannot  in  the  nature  of  things  be 
proved  by  documentary  evidence.] 

2  At  later  points  in  the  diary  much  more  evidence  as  to  the 
Adana  massacre  is  given. 


How  the  Old  Sultan  Heard  the  News      137 

they  had  been  pledged  to  him  in  this  sacrament  of 
blood.  [On  the  Sultan's  knowledge,  see  p.  163.] 

Late  in  the  evening  I  heard  a  full  and  correct  report 
of  the  interview  between  the  old  Sultan  and  the  two 
Deputies  who  were  sent  by  the  Chamber  to  announce 
to  him  that  he  was  deposed.  The  two  messengers 
were  chosen  by  lot  from  among  the  Deputies ;  one 
was  a  Turk,  the  other  a  Jew  of  Salonica.  The  account 
which  I  give  in  correction  of  the  story  published  in  the 
newspapers  comes  from  one  of  the  two  messengers.  At 
one  point  the  Sultan  burst  out  in  a  frenzied  cry,  "  May 
God  damn  everlastingly  all  who  have  caused  these 
troubles !  "  The  Jew  replied  :  "  May  God  damn  them, 
your  Majesty  ".  The  Sultan  asked  for  a  guarantee  of 
his  life.  The  Turkish  Deputy  replied  that  only  the 
Nation  could  give  such  a  guarantee.  The  Sultan 
turned  to  the  Jew  and  asked  his  opinion  ;  he  answered  : 
"I  think  your  Majesty's  life  will  be  safe".  The 
Sultan  answered  :  "  So  every  one  says,  but  will  no  one 
give  me  a  guarantee?  "  Then  the  Jew  said  :  "Your 
Majesty,  as  my  colleague  says,  only  the  Nation  can 
give  such  a  guarantee". 

We  hear  also  that  the  new  Sultan  offered  the  usual 
purses  of  money  (£$o  Turkish  in  each)  to  the  De- 
puties who  brought  the  news  of  his  accession,  but 
these  were  declined ;  and  a  Young  Turk  said  frankly 
that  a  new  era  had  begun  in  Turkey,  and  that  such 
presents  were  no  longer  suitable.  I  called  to-day  on 
Admiral  C.,  retired  from  the  American  Navy.  He 
has  been  about  the  Aleppo  district  in  the  early  spring, 
and  was  told  then  by  an  English  Consul  (I  don't 


138  Thursday,  April  29 

know  which)  that  there  was  no  chance  of  an  Armenian 
massacre  occurring  now  in  these  regions,  as  every 
man  was  armed  with  a  revolver.  I  said  that  it  was 
one  thing  to  possess  a  revolver  and  another  thing  to 
use  it.  In  illustration  of  this  an  English  resident  told 
some  remarkable  facts  that  occurred  during  the 
massacre  of  the  Armenians  in  Constantinople,  and 
others  are  related  below,1  illustrating  the  submissive- 
ness  of  the  ordinary  Armenians  in  the  face  of  threaten- 
ing death.  What  defence  would  revolvers  be  in  the 
hands  of  such  men  ? 

In  Zeitun  and  Hadjin,  among  the  mountains, 
the  Armenians  have  fought  well  in  the  past  and  will 
fight ;  and  even  in  Cilicia  there  has  been  resistance  on 
their  part  in  some  places.  But,  in  general,  a  few  Kurds 
or  Turks  would  terrify  a  whole  Armenian  village  into 
trembling  submission  to  every  outrage  and  death  itself. 
People  of  the  North  can't  understand  or  believe  such 
things  ;  but  they  are  true  all  the  same. 

I  had  a  long  conversation  to-day  in  Pera  with  a 
man  of  education  and  rank,  whom  I  will  not  further 
describe  than  by  saying  that  he  was  not  a  Turk,  and 
that  the  conversation  was  not  conducted  in  English. 
I  did  most  of  the  listening,  and  merely  said  enough 
to  elicit  his  opinions  as  fully  as  I  could.  It  was  un- 
fortunate, he  said,  for  English  reputation  and  standing 
in  Constantinople  that  she  had  so  identified  herself 
with  the  Liberal  party ;  and,  on  my  protest,  he  modi- 
fied his  expression  to  the  form  that  she  was  understood 

^ee.  208. 


An  Interview  139 


by  everybody  to  have  made  herself  the  champion  and 
ally  of  the  Liberals  ;  that  was  the  inference  which 
people  drew  in  accordance  with  the  King's  telegram 
to  the  Sultan  about  Kiamil  and  the  line  taken  by  the 
Embassy ;  but  he  added  that,  so  far  as  prestige  is 
concerned,  what  is  universally  believed  is  as  effective 
as  if  it  were  true.  While  he  courteously  made  the 
modification,  it  was  quite  clear  that  his  first  expression 
indicated  his  fixed  opinion  ;  and,  as  it  was  clear  that 
he  would  speak  more  freely  if  I  refrained  from  dissent 
or  correction,  I  resolved  to  be  a  sympathetic  listener, 
and  let  my  own  opinions  lie  dormant  for  a  time. 

He  referred  with  evident  regret  to  the  complete 
eclipse  of  English  influence,  and  hoped  that  it  might 
prove  only  temporary.  He  blamed  the  general  con- 
duct of  recent  English  policy  in  South-Eastern  Europe. 
I  remarked  that  a  friend  whose  judgment  was  usually 
sound  had  regarded  the  appointment  of  our  Am- 
bassador as  an  ideally  good  one,  and  that  on  the  only 
occasion  when  I  had  seen  him  he  had,  on  hearing  of  a 
rather  startling  event,  expressed  forthwith  an  anticipa- 
tion of  the  issue,  which  was  completely  justified  within 
forty-eight  hours.  He  replied  by  describing  at  some 
length  the  contrast  between  the  strength  of  English 
influence  in  Turkey  last  July  with  its  utter  insignifi- 
cance now ;  but  added  that  there  was  one  way  and 
only  one  in  which  he  could  see  a  real  unity  and 
crafty  purpose  in  England's  recent  policy  in  the  Balkan 
and  Turkish  question,  and  that  was  that  she  wished 
to  bring  about  war  with  Germany.  I  asked  him 
whether  he  agreed  with  a  Dutch  friend  of  mine,  who 


140  Thursday,  April  29 

always  maintains  that  English  foreign  policy  is  more 
consistent,  long-sighted,  continuous,  successful  and 
selfish  than  that  of  any  other  country  in  Europe ;  and 
mentioned  that,  on  the  contrary,  English  newspapers 
were  never  tired  of  inveighing  against  the  ignorance, 
the  carelessness  and  the  short-sightedness  of  our 
Foreign  Office  and  Diplomatic  Service.  He  said  that 
of  old  he  had  entirely  agreed  with  my  Dutch  friend, 
but  that,  since  he  had  in  recent  years  begun  to  be 
more  desirous  of  England's  success,  he  was  not  so 
sure  that  the  judgment  was  right.  I  stated  the  theory 
that  Britain  lived  and  grew  strong,  because  on  the 
whole  her  policy  had  been  nearer  the  true  line  of 
development  in  the  history  of  the  world  generally 
than  that  of  any  other  nation,  inasmuch  as  she  had  in 
a  rough  and  only  half-conscious  fashion  been  always 
a  promoter  of  free  intercourse  throughout  the  world ; 
hence  always  in  the  long  run  opportunities  fell  to  her 
lot,  because  in  every  crisis  it  turned  out  to  be  better 
for  the  world  as  a  whole  that  the  system  which  she 
represented  should  survive  and  spread.  He  answered 
that  some  years  ago  he  would  have  laughed  at  such  a 
theory  of  history,  on  the  ground  that  English  policy 
had  invariably  been  so  unscrupulous  and  brutal,  but 
that  recently  he  was  more  disposed  to  think  that 
there  was  something  in  that  view  ;  in  the  last  resort 
people  always  seemed  to  come  round  to  the  opinion 
that  the  triumph  of  the  English  system  was  less 
objectionable  than  that  of  the  opposing  system.  The 
one  case  in  which  European  opinion  was  practically 
unanimous  against  England  from  beginning  to  end  of 


An  Interview  141 


a  conflict  was  the  Boer  War ;  but  the  remarkable 
issue  of  that  struggle  in  the  peaceful  concord  of  South 
Africa  had  produced  a  very  deep  impression  on  the 
mind  of  Europe. 

He  believed,  however,  that  he  was  almost  the  only 
man  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  except  a  few  honest 
and  simple  Turks,  who  was  not  firmly  convinced  that 
in  her  diplomacy  and  foreign  policy  England  spoke 
always  with  intent  to  deceive.  He  mentioned  (what 
every  person  who  goes  abroad  knows)  that  English 
proposals  for  limitation  of  armaments  were  regarded  in 
Germany  only  as  crafty  devices  to  keep  the  enemy 
weak,  while  England  secretly  strengthened  herself; 
and  that  all  such  proposals  were  dangerous  to  peace, 
because  they  roused  such  deep  suspicion  and  distrust. 
He  knew  as  a  fact  that  Germany  would  welcome  and 
reciprocate  any  serious  proposals  for  avoiding  or 
minimising  disagreements  and  for  providing  means  to 
ward  off  danger  of  war  ;  and  that  her  suspicions  of 
English  honesty  were  strengthened,  because  we  never 
made  any  suggestion  of  this  rational  kind,  but  only 
suggested  terms  which  could  not  possibly  be  enter- 
tained. And  at  present,  he  continued,  what  will 
England  do  for  the  Turkish  Liberals  ?  Will  she  raise 
a  finger  to  help  those  whom  she  encouraged  while 
they  were  in  power?  "You,"  said  he,  "who  are  an 
old  traveller  in  Turkey,  know  whether  about  1880 
and  the  following  years  she  made  even  the  smallest 
effort  to  help  Midhat  and  the  Reformers,  all  staunch 
Anglophiles,  encouraged  by  England  so  long  as  they 
had  any  influence,  but  left  to  the  Sultan's  will  as  soon 


142  Thursday,  April  29 

as  he  had  made  himself  secure  in  absolute  power." 
As  I  had  talked  with  some  of  those  Reformers  about 
1883,  exiled  in  remote  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  and  heard 
what  they  said,  I  could  not  answer  a  word  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  but  pointed  out  that  after  the  Revolution  of  July, 
1908,  the  Turks  looked  for  much  more  from  England 
than  it  was  possible  for  her  to  give,  and  therefore  there 
was  bound  to  be  a  disillusionment,  without  any  real 
fault  on  our  side.  "  Our  people  are  not  interested  in 
Turkish  affairs,  and  will  never  take  any  serious  part 
in  the  Eastern  situation,  but  will  content  themselves 
with  giving  good  advice.  We  Britons  are  always 
happy  in  the  contemplation  of  our  own  virtues,  and 
delighted  to  offer  them  for  others  to  imitate ;  but  we 
will  not  interfere  practically  in  Turkey,  though  we  think 
that  our  diplomatists  should  preach  the  doctrine  of 
British  perfection  to  all  the  world,  and  especially  to 
Turkey."  "Then  why  struggle  against  Germany  for 
influence  in  Turkey?"  said  he.  "  It  was  your  policy 
in  1889  to  encourage  German  enterprise  in  Turkey, 
because  you  wished  to  throw  a  German  barrier  across 
the  path  of  Russian  advance  westwards  along  the 
Asiatic  side  of  the  Black  Sea.  Your  Ambassador 
then  threw  an  English  railway  into  the  lap  of  Germany  ; 
but  when  the  railway  began  to  advance  farther  than 
200  miles,  you  began  to  regard  it  jealously  as  a  rival, 
and  have  been  striving  in  a  half-hearted,  ineffective  way 
to  undo  what  you  did.  You  give  Turkey  advice, 
often  utterly  impracticable,  and  always  certain  to  be 
disregarded.  Germany  gives  railways  and  great  irri- 
gation schemes,  and  makes  money  out  of  them ;  but 


An  Interview  143 


Turkey  also  profits  greatly,  and  few  Germans  settle 
along  the  railway,  so  that  the  country  remains  in 
Turkish  hands.  Why  not  co-operate  with  Germany 
in  her  Turkish  enterprises  ?  You  will  gain  by  them 
in  the  long  run,  and  Germany  will  have  her  hands 
full  for  a  great  many  years,  if  she  tackles  the  Turkish 
problem.  Many  of  your  newspapers  continue  to 
preach  day  after  day  and  month  after  month  that 
Germany  is  Satan  ;  but,  if  that  is  so,  the  best  way  is 
to  keep  Satan  busy.  In  the  fairy-tale  the  man  always 
wins  dominion  over  the  Devil  by  giving  him  work  to 
do.  To  run  Turkey  as  a  going  concern  is  no  light 
matter,  and  will  occupy  German  attention  for  many 
years.  Fifty  years  hence  you  will  find  that  England 
has  gained  at  least  as  much  as  Germany  out  of  the 
regeneration  of  Turkey,  if  it  is  regenerated.  Through 
your  own  action,  and  with  your  co-operation  at  the 
beginning,  Turkey  has  become  a  German  sphere  of 
influence,  and  the  only  honest  and  wise  course  is  to 
recognise  the  fact."  As  I  have  long  felt  that  we  made 
a  mistake  when  we  refused  to  co-operate  in  the 
Bagdad  Railway  I  could  only  agree  with  this  opinion ; 
and,  in  order  to  give  a  lighter  tone  to  the  conversation, 
I  remarked  that  he  evidently  held  the  same  opinion  of 
the  English,  which  a  shopkeeper  in  Krakau  had  ex- 
pressed to  an  Oxford  friend  of  mine.  This  man  had 
sent  to  my  friend  at  his  hotel  an  article  of  interest  and 
of  some  value,  which  the  latter  forgot  to  pay  in  the 
hurry  of  departure.  Months  later  he  returned  to 
Krakau,  called  at  the  shop,  paid  for  the  article,  ex- 
pressed his  regret  at  the  delay,  and  hoped  that  the 


144  Thursday,  April  29 

man  had  not  felt  disturbed  when  payment  was  not 
made  at  the  time  of  delivery.  "  Not  at  all,"  said  the 
tradesman;  "  the  English  never  cheat  in  small 
things." 

The  story  pleased  the  gentleman  with  whom  I  was 
talking ;  he  said  that  it  well  expressed  a  widely  pre- 
valent opinion  regarding  the  English  nation,  and 
that  it  quite  explained  why  many  people  in  Europe 
who  were  on  the  most  friendly  relations  with  English 
people  in  private  life  hated  the  nation  as  a  whole. 

In  this  morning's  papers  there  appears  an  official 
statement  issued  by  Kiamil  Pasha's  family  denying 
that  he  had  fled  from  Constantinople,  and  saying 
that  he  has  merely  been  spending  a  few  days  in  the 
country  on  his  own  estate  (Tchiftlik).  Yesterday 
the  Courrier  d  Orient  contained  an  article  headed 
"  La  Fuite  de  Kiamil  Pasha,"  describing  how  he  had 
left  his  residence  last  Sunday  and  gone  to  the  house 
of  one  of  his  sons,  where  he  had  entered  a  boat 
which  was  waiting,  and  had  been  conveyed  with 
several  of  his  sons  to  a  steam  launch,  which  forthwith 
departed  to  "une  destination  inconnue".  The  pre- 
vious evening  a  man  in  a  small  rowing  boat  came  to 
Sir  W.  Whittall's  yacht,  and  asked  the  sailors  what 
refugee  they  had  been  sheltering  on  board.  There 
has  evidently  been  much  gossip  as  to  the  Pasha's 
retirement ;  but  all  the  printed  statements  and  conjec- 
tures were  false,  and  he  never  set  foot  on  board  Sir 
William's  yacht. 

We  went  to-day  to  Robert  College  at  Roumeli 
Hissar  (the  European  castle,  built  by  Mohammed 


X.-P.  144- 


Scene  in  the  Square  beside  Aya  Sofia,  morning  of  the  First  Selamlik  of 

Mehmet  V. 

See  p.  147. 


Robert  College  145 


II.),  to  call  on  Professor  and  Mrs.  Van  Millingen.  It 
was  understood  that  we  should  come  to  lunch,  if 
possible.  We  reached  the  Bridge  just  in  time  to  miss 
the  steamer,  having  been  detained  on  the  way  by  a 
crowd.  Expecting  another  very  soon,  we  waited  on  ; 
but  for  some  reason  there  was  a  long  interval,  and 
then  a  slow  boat  which  touched  at  many  points 
conveyed  us  to  the  Scala  of  Bebek.  No  conveyance 
could  be  procured  ;  and  it  was  a  very  slow  process  to 
climb  the  path  which  zig-zags  up  the  steep  hill  to  the 
College.  After  a  long  morning  of  continuous  work 
in  town,  I  felt  as  if  I  should  never  reach  the  top. 
The  hearty  welcome  which  we  received  compensated 
spiritually  for  the  fatigue,  and  lunch  was  very  wel- 
come ;  but  physically  such  a  long  fast  and  work, 
ending  up  with  a  tiring  walk,  is  the  most  trying 
ordeal  for  one  who  has  suffered  much  from  fever.  We 
did  nothing  except  sit  and  talk  for  hours  about  Con- 
stantinople, on  which  our  host  is  the  leading  authority. 
Robert  College  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  crea- 
tions of  pure  unselfish  beneficence,  guided  by  admir- 
able common  sense,  that  the  history  of  the  world  has 
known.  It  has  been  for  more  than  fifty  years  making 
an  educated  middle  class  among  the  Christians  of 
south-eastern  Europe1  and  of  Asia  Minor  ;  and  many 
people,  who  know  this  country  well,  believe  that  it 
has  done  more  to  render  possible  a  peaceful  solution 
of  the  Eastern  Question  than  all  the  European 
Powers  and  Ambassadors.  The  truth  is  that  Am- 

1  The  kingdom  of  Greece,  which  supports  its  own  educational 
system,  has  of  course  lain  outside  its  sphere  of  activity. 

10 


146  Thursday,  April  29 

bassadors  are  not  sent  to  Turkey  in  order  to  solve 
the  Eastern  Question,  but  to  carry  out  a  certain 
policy  ;  and  there  is  no  country  except  Britain  whose 
interest  clearly  lies  in  having  a  strong  and  educated 
Turkey.  Every  other  European  country  has  more 
to  gain,  or  believes  it  has  more  to  gain,  if  Turkey  is 
weak.  There  are  some  countries  whose  aim  has 
always  been  to  keep  Turkey  in  a  condition  of  dis- 
order. Turkey  represents  the  intrusion  of  Asiatic 
conditions  into  Europe.  Not  so  very  long  ago 
Turkey  was  the  terror  and  the  tyrant  of  south-eastern 
and  even  of  central  Europe.  No  one  can  wonder 
that  small  love  was  felt,  or  benevolence  shown,  to- 
wards a  power  which  long  threatened  to  destroy 
western  civilisation,  which  twice  besieged  Vienna, 
and  which  trampled  under  foot  every  district  from 
Vienna  to  the  Morea  and  the  Crimea.  Such  were 
the  plain  facts ;  and  the  Ambassadors  of  those 
European  Powers  had  other  ends  than  to  educate 
and  to  revivify  Turkey  ;  but  the  sole  aim  of  the 
Missions  and  of  Robert  College  has  been  to  create 
self-respect  and  life  in  the  peoples  of  the  country. 

From  Robert  College  we  went  to  Scutari  in  the 
evening  to  pay  a  visit  for  a  few  days  to  our  friends 
at  the  American  College  for  Women.  Our  personal 
luggage  had  been  sent  in  the  morning  direct  from 
Kadi-Keui  by  cart.  The  College  at  Scutari,  which 
is  soon  going  to  migrate  to  new  quarters  on  the 
European  side  of  the  Bosphorus,  aims  at  doing  for 
the  women  of  the  various  races  in  Turkey  what 
Robert  College  has  been  doing  for  the  men.  A 


The  American   W omens  College  147 

High  School  from  1871,  it  was  chartered  in  1890 
as  a  College  by  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts, 
and  it  has  also  an  Imperial  Turkish  Irade.  The 
language  is  English,  and  the  life  is  English  or  Ameri- 
can, which  are  in  this  case  equivalent ;  but  the  native 
languages  of  the  students  are  also  taught,  and  (if 
desired)  the  languages  which  are  to  them  classical, 
Ancient  Greek,  Latin,  Persian  and  Arabic. 

"  Hitherto  Turkish  girls  could  only  be  educated  at 
the  College  in  defiance  of  the  will  and  commands  of 
the  Sultan,  and  therefore  the  number  of  such  pupils 
has  been  small.  Only  two  Mohammedan  girls  have 
graduated.  But  the  different  races  in  Turkey  live 
side  by  side,  and  what  is  taking  place  in  one  com- 
munity is  not  hidden  from  the  other — especially  such 
important  facts  as  the  sending  away  to  school  or 
college  of  the  daughters  of  any  family,  and  the  inevit- 
able, although  gradual,  changes  in  the  ideas  and  life  of 
the  people  that  result  from  education,  for  a  consider- 
able number  of  years,  by  western  teachers,  in  practi- 
cally western  environment.  Many  instances  could 
be  cited  of  the  imitation  by  Turks  of  new  habits  thus 
introduced  among  their  Armenian  neighbours  by  the 
daughters  returned  from  the  College,  or  educated  at 
the  American  missionary  schools  and  colleges  in  the 
country."  So  my  wife  tells  me. 

Friday,  April  30. — After  the  victory  the  rejoicing. 
To-day  was  the  first  Selamlik  of  the  new  Sultan, 
Mehmet  V.,  and  he  went  through  the  streets  in  the 
most  open  way  to  the  Mosque  of  St.  Sophia  to  noon- 
day prayer.  The  crowd  seemed  to  me  great,  but  I 


148  Friday,  April  30 

am  told  it  was  not  nearly  so  great  as  at  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Constitution  last  July.  It  was  certainly 
most  orderly  and  good-tempered  and  courteous. 
There  was  not  the  smallest  difficulty  in  keeping 
things  quiet.  The  soldiers  occasionally  ordered  the 
carriages  which  were  being  pushed  too  far  forward  to 
be  drawn  back  a  little.  Except  in  that  respect  I 
saw  no  police  interference  and  no  need  for  any. 
Where  there  was  a  crowd  of  Turkish  women  gathered 
together,  few  made  any  pretence  of  veiling  their 
faces ;  almost  all  drew  back  their  black  veils  to  cover 
only  their  hair  and  show  the  face  entirely.  Those 
who  wished  to  be  in  the  centre  of  interest  went  into 
the  enclosure  that  surrounded  the  Mosque,  where 
they  had  to  stand  amid  a  dense  crowd  ;  but  I  preferred 
to  sit  quietly  in  a  carriage  in  the  great  square,  opposite 
one  of  the  entrances,  taking  the  chance  that  the  Sultan 
might  come  that  way.  There  I  studied  the  crowd 
without  seeing  the  central  figure,  as  the  Sultan  entered 
from  the  other  side. 

My  daughter,  who  had  come  with  me  to  see  the 
show,  was  more  energetic  than  I,  and  went  away  with 
two  other  ladies,  whom  we  met  by  chance  in  the 
square,  to  try  and  get  a  nearer  view,  in  which  they 
were  quite  successful,  so  I  give  her  notes  of  the  cere- 
mony. 

"  We  went  into  the  enclosed  court  of  the  Mosque 
by  the  north  gate  (which  enters  from  the  great  square). 
We  asked  a  man  there  if  it  was  permitted,  and  he  said 
we  might  go  anywhere  we  liked :  '  Yassak  yok ' 
(there  is  no  prohibition).  Then  we  learned  that  the 


XI.— P.  148. 


Selamlik  of  Mehmet  V. :  Scene  in  the  Square  beside  Aya  Sofia. 


First  Selamlik  of  Mohammed  V  149 

Sultan  was  to  enter  by  the  south  door,  so  we  went 
round  to  that  side.  A  Turkish  gentleman,  recognising 
Miss  Whittall,  one  of  our  number,  invited  us  all  into 
the  carriage  in  which  he  was  sitting  alone,  and  we 
had  an  excellent  view.  The  Turk  knew  everybody, 
and  pointed  out  the  celebrities  to  us. 

"  The  Sultan  came  from  his  palace  on  the 
Bosphorus  to  the  Treasury,  and  thence  entered  the 
Mosque.  The  road  was  lined  with  many  soldiers, 
mounted  and  on  foot,  but  the  huge  crowd  of  specta- 
tors was  most  good-humoured  and  orderly.  Indeed 
the  orderliness  of  the  crowds  everywhere  is  most 
remarkable.  Shefket  Pasha  rode  out  from  the 
Treasury  gate  first,  in  the  blue  uniform  of  a  general, 
to  arrange  the  position  of  the  soldiers.  He  is  quite 
young,  dark,  slight,  with  dark  moustache  and  rather 
aquiline  nose ;  tall,  I  should  think.  Then  two 
Muezzins  in  the  Minarets  proclaimed  the  hour  of 
prayer ;  and  at  once  the  band  (which  was  ready 
drawn  up  between  the  outer  gate  and  the  door  of  the 
Mosque)  struck  up,  and  there  appeared  first  a  Kavass 
in  full  dress,  royal  blue  with  gold  embroidery  all  over 
it,  and  a  magnificent  sash ;  he  was  fully  armed,  with 
pistols  in  holsters,  riding  a  beautiful  white  horse 
whose  trappings  were  gold-studded.  After  him  came 
the  royal  carriage,  all  gold  decorations  on  the  lamps, 
etc.,  drawn  by  beautiful  white  horses  with  glittering, 
decorated  harness,  driven  by  a  coachman  in  scarlet, 
also  stiff  with  gold  embroidery.  Facing  the  Sultan 
sat  Mahmud  Mukhtar  Pasha,  a  stout  elderly  man 
with  square  grey  beard  (and  spectacles,  I  think)  in  a 


150  Friday,  April  30 

blue  uniform,  looking  very  cheerful,  all  gold  lace  and 
medals.  The  Sultan  is  a  large  heavy  man  with  a 
large  heavy  face,  pasty,  pale  complexion  and  pen- 
dulous cheeks.  He  wore  a  khaki  uniform  coat,  and 
was  not  (to  my  mind)  either  prepossessing  or  very 
dignified,  though  our  Turk  remarked  that  he  was  a 
fine-looking  man,  to  which  we  of  course  assented.  I 
daresay  that  it  is  difficult  to  have  a  dignified  look  after 
being  imprisoned  and  watched  by  spies  constantly  for 
the  last  thirty-three  years.  Alongside  his  carriage 
walked  another  gorgeous  Kavass  in  red  and  gold,  who 
opened  its  door,  and  two  other  gorgeous  officials,  each 
bearing  a  little  covered  silver  chalice  containing  (said 
our  Turk)  rose-water.  They  stood  one  on  each  side  of 
the  doorway,  where  also  the  various  generals,  etc.,  were 
ranged,  all  bowing  and  salaaming  as  the  Sultan 
entered.  The  royal  carriage  then  went  off  on  a  tour 
through  the  streets,  accompanied  by  various  other 
carriages.  We  waited.  After  a  time  a  number  of 
close-shut  broughams  containing  ladies  came  round 
from  the  direction  of  the  Hippodrome  and  went  in  at 
the  Treasury  gate,  the  horses  fine,  mostly  bays  with 
gold  on  their  harness.  Several  carriages  of  important 
people  also  drove  up,  one  containing  Enver  Bey, 
Niazi  Bey,1  and  another,  all  in  blue  uniforms,  saluting 
occasionally  as  they  went.  The  Salonica  troops  wear 
blue  or  khaki,  the  Albanian  and  Roumeliote  volunteers 
their  shabby  purple  uniform  with  white  cap.  The 
police  have  grey  jackets  with  red  epaulettes  and  red  on 
collar  and  cuffs. 

1  The  two  popular  heroes,  who  made  the  first  steps  in  revolt. 


First  Selamlik  of  Mohammed  V  151 

"  The  Chief  of  Police  was  present  on  foot,  arranging 
the  scene  before  the  Sultan  appeared.  He  is  a  tall 
thin  man  with  big  moustache,  hooked  nose,  and  huge 
gold  epaulettes.  The  Turk  said  he  was  for  a  time  an 
exile,  and  that  all  the  evil-doers  are  in  wholesome 
terror  of  him. 

"  The  prayers  lasted  nearly  three-quarters  of  an  hour  ; 
Miss  Whittall  says  they  usually  last  only  twenty  or 
twenty-five  minutes.  By  that  time  the  royal  carriage 
and  attendants  had  returned,  and  the  Sultan  came 
out  and  took  his  seat,  rose-water  men  and  Kavasses 
as  before.  Two  of  his  sons  were  there  also,  and  went 
away  in  a  carriage  after  him.  They  also  are  heavy- 
looking  and  pasty-faced,  with  dark  moustaches,  and 
they  saluted  the  people  as  they  passed.  There  was  a 
good  deal  of  hand-clapping  for  the  Sultan,  and  a  little 
shouting  for  him,  but  the  crowd  was  far  quieter  than 
a  European  one." 

While  this  was  going  on  I  waited  outside.  My 
wife,  who  had  come  by  another  route,  came  up  and 
joined  me.  Our  carriage  was  moved  back  several 
times  by  the  police  ;  but  the  driver,  like  others,  always 
encroached  again  on  the  forbidden  space,  and  at  last 
the  police  abandoned  the  attempt  to  keep  them  back. 
Then  a  Turkish  woman  dressed  in  the  style  which  I 
described  above  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity 
offered  by  our  carriage  to  get  a  better  view  by  stand- 
ing on  the  back  part.  My  wife  and  an  English  lady 
who  was  with  us  spoke  to  her,  and  made  her  position 
easy,  but  I  did  not  outrage  Moslem  feeling  by  taking 
any  notice  of  her.  She  was  quite  pleasant  in  appear- 


152  Friday,  April  30 

ance,  and  seemed  as  truly  a  lady  as  the  Turk  usually 
is  a  gentleman  in  manner  and  bearing.  My  wife  took 
two  photographs  of  her  as  she  stood  in  this  lofty  and 
exposed  position.  One  of  them  is  here  given.  I 
had  to  keep  an  engagement  in  Pera,  and  left  before 
the  crowd  had  begun  to  disperse,  but  there  was  no 
difficulty  in  making  my  way  through  the  densest  part 
of  it.  Every  person  was  most  courteous  in  letting  me 
pass,  even  at  some  inconvenience,  inferring  that  I  was 
obliged  to  get  away  from  the  square. 

I  add  my  wife's  account  of  her  view  of  this  interest- 
ing ceremony. 

"Most  of  the  party  from  the  College  went  by 
steamer,  but  Miss  Dodd  and  I  preferred  to  go  by 
caique,  and  rejoin  the  others  in  Stamboul.  The 
caique  is  a  light,  narrow,  graceful  boat,  pointed  at 
either  end,  the  boatmen  are  expert  rowers,  the  pas- 
senger reclines  at  leisure  on  the  comfortably  cushioned 
seat,  and  is  borne  swiftly  and  smoothly  over  the  softly 
rippling  water.  Of  course  one  doesn't  go  in  a  caique 
if  the  weather  is  bad.  On  this  occasion  it  was  per- 
fect. Spring  was  just  giving  place  to  summer,  the 
sun  shone  from  a  cloudless  sky,  while  a  delicious 
breeze  tempered  the  warmth  of  the  air. 

"  Our  caique  was  rowed  by  two  men,  each  with  a 
pair  of  oars,  so  that  we  went  very  fast,  but  not  so 
fast  as  to  prevent  the  chief  of  the  two  from  talking 
in  a  lively  and  interesting  manner  all  the  time. 
When  we  had  gone  a  hundred  yards  or  so  they 
stopped  to  put  some  butter  on  their  oars.  They 
never  put  the  butter  on  before  starting.  I  have  often 


.  152. 


First  Selamlik  of  Mehmet  V.  :  Scene  in  the  Square  beside  St.  Sophia. 


First  Selamlik  of  Mohammed  V  153 

wondered  why,  but  have  never  been  able  to  learn 
the  reason.  This  necessary  rite  performed,  they  set 
to  with  a  will,  and  soon  the  perspiration  was  flowing 
down  their  faces. 

"  They  were  both  intelligent,  decent-looking  men, 
and  the  one  who  talked  was  well  known  to  Miss 
Dodd,  and  eager  to  pour  his  views  of  the  present 
condition  of  things  into  her  sympathetic  ear.  Like 
everybody  else  he  had  not  a  good  word  to  say  of 
Abd-ul-Hamid.  .  '  He  ate  everything,'  said  thecaique- 
ji — which  is  the  Turkish  way  of  describing  one  who 
takes  all.  The  poor  as  well  as  the  rich  had  to 
give  their  all,  so  that  they  could  hardly  live.  But 
after  all,  the  poorest,  '  we  caique-jis,  for  example,' 
were  the  best  off,  for  they  had  nothing  to  lose. 
*  And  even  then,'  he  added,  'if  he  knew  that  we  had 
five  para  (equal  to  one  farthing),  he  would  have  taken 
it.'  The  boatmen,  he  said,  had  been  having  very 
hard  times,  for  the  winter  had  been  so  bad  that 
almost  nobody  used  the  boats  ;  and  now  that  the 
Revolution  had  taken  place  there  were  no  tourists, 
although  the  weather  was  so  beautiful ;  hence  they 
were  not  able  to  make  a  living  at  their  trade,  and 
most  of  them  were  in  debt.  However,  under  the 
new  Government  everything  would  be  different, 
'inshallah,'  and  honest  men  would  be  able  to  live  in 
peace.  He  wondered  what  the  new  Government 
would  do  with  the  late  Sultan's  money  and  property — 
for  example  with  all  the  great  estates  that  he  had  seized 
for  his  own  use  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and 
of  which  all  the  revenues  went  into  his  own  pocket, 


154  Friday,  April  30 


while  the  people  who  worked  on  them  remained  in 
poverty.  Then  he  spoke  of  the  new  Sultan.  He 
knew  (as  we  ourselves  did)  that  the  Tchelebi  Effendi, 
the  head  of  the  Mevlevi  Dervishes,  would  come 
from  Konia  to  gird  upon  the  new  monarch  the 
'  Sword  of  Power '.  But  he  told  us  also  (what  we  did 
not  know)  that  on  the  day  when  that  is  done  the  new 
Sultan  performs  a  curious  ceremony  which  consists 
in  ploughing  a  certain  measure  of  land,  guiding 
with  his  royal  hand  the  plough,  which  is  drawn  by 
oxen,  and  carrying  a  goad,  and  afterwards  sowing 
the  land  he  has  prepared  with  seed.  '  Which,'  said 
our  informant,  *  means  a  great  deal  more  than  is 
apparent.'  As  a  matter  of  fact  no  such  ceremony 
takes  place.  The  statement  of  the  caique-ji  was 
apparently  a  reminiscence  of  the  legend  which  describes 
the  marking  out  of  the  boundary  of  the  city  by  the 
Emperor  Constantine.  Some  of  these  caique-jis  have 
a  wonderful  store  of  folk-lore,  and  to  people  who 
understand  their  language  their  talk  is  both  interesting 
and  instructive.  They  thoroughly  appreciate  a  good 
listener. 

"  The  ceremony  of  investiture,  which  corresponds 
to  the  coronation  of  a  Western  monarch,  takes  place 
at  the  Mosque  of  Eyoub,  a  spot  specially  sacred  as 
the  burying-place  of  the  standard-bearer  of  the  pro- 
phet, Eyoub  Ansari.  Eyoub  is  one  of  the  suburbs  of 
Constantinople,  a  beautiful  spot  at  the  head  of  the 
Golden  Horn.  The  mosque  is  surrounded  by  ceme- 
teries, in  which  are  the  graves  of  many  distinguished 
people,  shaded  by  innumerable  cypress-trees.  None 


First  Selamlik  of  Mohammed  V  155 

but  the  Faithful  are  permitted  to  enter  the  holy  pre- 
cincts. Even  the  Kaiser,  it  is  said,  asked  in  vain  to 
be  allowed  to  do  so.  Abd-ul-Hamid  probably  felt 
he  must  draw  the  line  somewhere. 

"  We  landed  at  the  Stamboul  end  of  the  Bridge. 
All  the  steamers  lying  in  the  harbour,  both  above  and 
below  the  Bridge,  as  well  as  the  streets  of  the  city, 
were  gay  with  flags.  The  streets  were  simply  packed 
with  people  and  carriages.  With  our  friends  from 
the  College  we  made  too  large  a  party.  Miss  Dodd 
and  I  once  more  separated  from  the  others.  We 
found  a  disengaged  carriage  and  were  driven  up  the 
rather  steep  street  to  the  Mosque  of  St.  Sophia,  which 
was  surrounded  by  a  dense  crowd.  The  Selamlik  was 
to  take  place  at  twelve  o'clock  and  it  was  almost  that 
hour.  We  didn't  know  from  which  side  His  Majesty 
would  arrive,  and  nobody  to  whom  we  spoke  seemed 
to  be  better  informed.  Not  that  there  was  any  mystery 
about  his  route — as  used  to  be  the  case  with  his  pre- 
decessor. It  was  publicly  known  (only  we  had  not 
heard  it)  that  he  would  come  by  boat  from  the  Dolma- 
Baghtche  Palace  to  Seraglio-Point,  and  thence  by  car- 
riage to  the  mosque. 

"  We  did  not  discover  this  in  time,  and  when,  as  a 
last  chance  of  getting  a  glimpse  of  him,  we  attempted 
to  enter  the  mosque  by  the  west  door,  the  official  on 
guard  politely  but  firmly  declined  to  allow  us.  Prayer 
was  going  on  ;  as  soon  as  it  was  over  we  might  enter 
freely ;  meantime  it  was  impossible.  We  learned 
afterwards  that  we  should  not  have  seen  the  Sultan 
anyhow,  as  he  prayed  in  a  part  of  the  mosque  that 


156  Friday,  April  30 

was  shut  off  from  public  view  by  a  screen.  From  the 
glimpse  we  had  of  the  interior  there  seemed  to  be  a 
considerable  number  of  worshippers  present.  I  sup- 
pose the  mosque  was  open  to  the  Faithful  as  usual. 
The  Sultan  entered  and  left  by  the  south  door,  the 
one  used  by  the  Emperor  when  St.  Sophia  was  a 
Christian  church.  I  heard  afterwards  that  five  sheep 
were  sacrificed  at  the  door  before  he  entered. 

"  Frustrated  in  our  design,  we  devoted  ourselves  to 
watching  the  people  and  taking  a  few  photographs. 
Every  face  was  smiling,  and  everybody  went  about 
freely,  without  the  least  interference  from  the  police. 
The  wide  courtyard  outside  the  mosque  was  compara- 
tively empty,  so  that  one  could  walk  about  comfort- 
ably, and  vendors  of  sweetmeats  and  cooling  drinks 
were  offering  refreshment  to  the  hungry  or  thirsty. 
Even  more  substantial  fare  was  to  be  had  occasionally. 

"The  large  numbers  of  Turkish  women  in  the 
crowds  were  very  noticeable.  On  scores  of  carriages 
they  were  standing  up  behind  or  on  the  driver's  seat 
so  as  to  get  a  better  view,  and  many  mingled  with 
the  throng  on  foot,  attracting  no  special  attention 
from  their  fellow-countrymen.  We  were  amusing 
ourselves  by  watching  the  infinitely  varied  and  vary- 
ing mass  of  human  beings  when  suddenly,  through  a 
momentary  gap,  I  caught  sight  in  the  distance  of  my 
husband's  face.  We  made  for  the  spot.  It  is  never 
very  difficult  to  worm  your  way  through  a  Turkish 
crowd,  for  every  one  seems  as  anxious  that  you  should 
get  through  as  you  are  yourself.  We  found  him 
along  with  an  English  lady  seated  in  an  open  carriage, 


First  Selamlik  of  Mohammed  V  157 

in  the  thickest  part  of  the  crowd,  calmly  writing  an 
article  on  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy,  while  he 
awaited  whatever  Fate  might  bring.  They  were  on 
the  farther  side  of  a  pathway  that  was  being  kept 
clear  by  soldiers  for  the  passage  of  officials,  but  no 
objection  was  made  to  our  going  across,  when  we  ex- 
plained that  we  desired  to  join  friends  on  the  other 
side.  A  sweet,  demure  little  Turkish  woman,  clothed 
in  the  black  ferrijee,  the  common  outdoor  dress  of 
Mohammedan  women,  which  disguises  their  individu- 
ality like  a  domino,  came  and  climbed  up  behind  the 
carriage  so  as  to  see  over  the  heads  of  people  in 
front.  The  sun  was  hot,  and  when  I  suggested  that 
my  husband  should  shade  himself  with  an  umbrella 
she  offered  to  hold  it,  but,  of  course,  we  would  not 
allow  that.  Her  head  and  forehead  were  covered 
by  her  ferrijee,  but  her  face  was  not  veiled,  and 
when  I  asked  permission  to  photograph  her  standing 
on  the  carriage  beside  my  husband,  she  readily 
granted  it.  I  would  not  have  photographed  her  in 
that  position  without  her  leave,  but  she  seemed  quite 
to  enjoy  the  fun  of  it.  A  newspaper  boy,  observing 
my  intention,  hastily  got  into  position  and  also  appears 
in  one  picture. 

"My  husband  had  a  business  engagement  in  Pera 
and  was  obliged  to  leave  us.  Our  attention  was 
taken  up  for  a  few  minutes — only  a  few — with  his 
departure,  but  when  we  turned  to  find  the  little 
Turkish  woman  she  had  disappeared.  We  waited 
to  see  the  officers  pass,  who  had  been  in  attendance 
on  the  Sultan  and  who  were  greeted  with  a  great 


158  Friday,  April  30 

clapping  of  hands,  and  then  the  crowd  dispersed. 
What  a  different  look  there  was  in  the  faces  of  the 
people  on  this  occasion  from  that  which  had  been  so 
noticeable  only  a  few  days  ago !  No  longer  the  ex- 
pression of  strained  and  often  terrified  expectation ! 
It  had  given  place  to  smiles  and  joyful  cheerfulness. 
The  very  air  felt  lighter,  as  if  the  spirit  of  heaviness 
had  been  blown  away  by  the  sense  of  security  and 
happiness.  As  for  me,  had  I  been  a  native  of  the 
country  and  a  subject  of  the  Sultan,  I  don't  think  I 
could  have  felt  more  jubilant  and  elated  ;  and  Miss 
Dodd,  whose  life's  interest  is  in  the  country,  felt  very 
much  the  same  I  am  sure.  Early  in  the  day  she 
had  bought  one  of  the  little  red  Turkish  flags  that 
were  being  sold  in  the  streets,  and  had  carried  it 
fluttering  over  her  shoulder  all  the  time.  It  would 
have  been  like  looking  for  the  proverbial  needle  in  a 
haystack  to  try  and  find  our  companions  from  the 
College  in  the  crowded  streets,  so,  resigning  ourselves 
to  circumstances,  we  betook  ourselves  to  a  certain 
modest  restaurant  in  a  convenient  but  unfashionable 
part  of  Stamboul." 

After  lunch  we  all  went  round  the  walls,  taking  a 
caique  from  the  inner  bridge  to  the  northern  end, 
where  the  land  wall  comes  down  to  the  Golden  Horn. 
The  walls  of  Rome  are  not  so  fine  or  so  imposing  as 
those  of  Constantinople.  The  simple  grave  of  that 
old  ruffian,  Ali  Pasha  of  Janina,  outside  the  Silivri 
Gate,  has  a  strange  interest  to  those  who  remember 
his  story.  I  was  too  tired  to  enjoy  the  excursion 
properly,  in  spite  of  the  fascination  which  Mr.  Pears 


Speculation  as  to  the  New  Ministry         159 

lends  to  a  walk  through  or  near  Constantinople. 
When  we  got  back  to  Scutari,  I  felt  that  the  last 
days  had  been  too  much  for  me. 

Saturday,  May  i. — A  bad  cold,  which  developed 
as  the  result  of  over-fatigue  on  Thursday  and  Friday, 
has  become  so  overpowering  that  I  could  not  go  out 
to-day  ;  but  reclined  in  an  easy  chair,  meditated  over 
the  events  of  the  past  ten  days,  and  made  poor 
progress  with  my  work.  This  cold  is  really  malaria 
fever,  and  incapacitates  one  for  any  exertion,  physical 
or  mental.1  The  other  two  went  across  to  Stamboul 
to  see  the  Hippodrome  and  other  remains  of  ancient 
Constantinople.  Margaret  was  specially  eager  to  see 
the  Serpent-Column,  which  was  dedicated  by  the 
Greeks  at  Delphi  to  commemorate  the  defeat  of 
Xerxes  with  his  Persian  armies  at  Salamis  and 
Plataea  in  B.C.  480-479. 

There  is  not  the  slightest  prospect  of  getting  away 
on  Monday  as  we  had  hoped.  Nothing  is  yet 
arranged  in  regard  to  the  Government. 

Speculation  continues  as  to  the  new  Ministry ;  and 
it  is  still  doubtful  how  far  the  Young  Turks  and  the 
Committee  will  take  office.  On  the  one  hand  the 
argument  is  urged  that  they  ought  to  assume  openly 
the  responsibility  and  not  be  a  veiled,  secret  power 
behind  the  Ministry.  They  were  blamed  severely  by 
critics  for  acting  in  this  concealed  way  during  last 
winter.  On  the  other  hand,  the  feeling  prevails  in  the 

1  [It  hung  about  me  for  four  weeks,  and  was  quite  a  serious 
trial.  I  have  never  had  as  bad  a  cold  even  in  Britain.  Yet  the 
weather  was  exquisite.] 


160  Saturday,  May  i 

minds  of  many  Young  Turks  that  they  ought  not  by 
taking  office  to  give  occasion  for  the  charge  that  they 
made  the  Revolution  for  the  sake  of  personal  aggrandise- 
ment. Undoubtedly,  there  is  one  really  strong  and 
able  administrator  in  Turkey ;  there  may  be  more,  as 
my  acquaintance  with  the  official  class  is  limited ;  but 
there  is  one,  and  from  some  talk  I  had  with  a  Young 
Turk  I  think  there  is  great  probability  of  his  coming 
soon  to  a  position  of  high  responsibility.  I  had  the 
opportunity  of  telling  some  things  that  I  knew  about 
his  administrative  capacity.  He  was  too  closely  as- 
sociated with  the  old  regime  to  be  a  Minister  in  the 
transition  period  between  July  and  April.  But  in 
May  he  begins  to  be  a  possibility. 

Looking  back  over  the  events  of  the  last  ten  days, 
one  recognises  how  accurately  (up  to  a  certain  point) 
the  situation  was  gauged  in  its  early  stages  by  some 
of  the  informants  whose  words  have  been  reported, 
and  yet  how  completely  their  estimates  erred  in  some 
most  important  points.  The  principals  could  formulate 
plans  and  make  agreements  with  one  another,  and  do 
their  best  to  carry  the  agreements  into  effect,  but 
they  could  not  reckon  on  the  conduct  of  human  beings. 
The  anticipation  expressed  by  the  exiled  Turkish 
editor  on  Wednesday  2ist,  that  the  Army  of  Liberty 
would  march  in  on  Saturday  24th,  was  verified  ;  but 
the  verification  was  due  to  the  sudden  change  of  plan 
on  Friday  23rd,  after  the  entry  of  the  army  had  been 
fixed  for  an  early  day  in  the  following  week.  He  told 
us  that  nothing  would  occur,  and  that  things  would  go 
on  much  as  before.  In  that  prediction  the  issue  proved 


Review  of  the  Situation  161 

him  to  be  wrong ;  but  the  opinion  is  now  prevalent 
that  an  arrangement  had  been  concluded  between  the 
Army  of  Liberty  and  the  Ministers  and  other  high 
officials  in  Stamboul,  and  that  it  was  of  a  kind  similar 
to  what  he  indicated  to  us  :  the  Sultan  was  not  to  be 
dethroned  by  the  army,  which  was  to  content  itself  with 
establishing  the  Constitution  firmly,  and  getting  rid  of 
dangerous  or  objectionable  individuals.  In  accordance 
with  the  arrangement,  Shefket  Pasha  issued  his  enig- 
matic proclamation  that  the  army  had  come,  not  to 
depose  the  Sultan,  but  to  save  the  Constitution ;  if, 
however,  the  action  of  ill-disposed  persons  should  re- 
sult in  more  serious  steps  than  were  intended,  the 
blame  would  rest  upon  those  persons. 

The  execution  of  the  arrangement  within  the  city 
was  interfered  with  by  two  causes,  which  lay  outside 
the  power  of  those  who  had  entered  into  it  and  tried 
to  execute  it.  In  the  first  place  the  soldiers  would  not 
surrender  as  was  intended.  Many  ran  away ;  and 
this  was  probably  contemplated  in  the  arrangement, 
for  no  attempt  was  made  to  prevent  their  evasion, 
but  those  who  remained  fought  until  they  were  com- 
pelled to  surrender.  The  resistance,  however,  was 
without  plan  or  order,  and  proceeded  from  the  fears  or 
loyalty  of  isolated  groups  of  soldiers  in  the  separate 
barracks. 

In  the  second  place,  the  public  now  knows  that 
as  a  last  means  of  saving  the  Sultan  a  massacre  was 
arranged  for  Friday  night,  in  order  to  force  the  Euro- 
pean Powers  to  occupy  the  city.  The  plans  of  the 

Committee  were  based  on  the  principle  of  avoiding 

ii 


1 62  Saturday,  May  i 


any  possible  chance  of  or  pretext  for  such  intervention. 
But  just  because  it  was  dreaded  by  the  Young  Turks, 
it  was  welcome  either  to  the  Sultan  or  to  some  of  his 
advisers  in  the  palace.  That  a  massacre  was  planned 
cannot  be  proved ;  but  every  one  now  knows  it  as 
certainly  as  every  one  knows  that  the  question  ad- 
dressed to  the  Fetva-Emine  and  his  answer  were 
directed  against  the  Sultan,  though  he  was  never 
mentioned.  The  only  possible  proof  that  such  a 
massacre  was  planned  would  be  that  it  should  break 
out ;  it  was  not  arranged  in  a  formal  treaty  signed 
and  sealed — it  was  the  last  refuge  of  despair.  The 
apprehension  of  it  weighed  on  the  city  all  Friday,  first 
that  it  was  to  begin  at  the  Selamlik,  afterwards  that  it 
was  to  take  place  during  the  night.  No  reason  could 
be  given ;  no  proof  that  the  danger  was  real  was 
assignable  ;  but,  so  far  as  I  can  find  out,  none  of  those 
who  were  endangered  by  it  doubt  that  it  was  intended. 
The  story  is  that  word  was  sent  out  to  Shefket 
Pasha  about  the  intended  massacre,  and  that  the 
attack  was  thereby  hastened  two  or  three  days  ; *  also 
that  massacres  of  Christians  were  planned  in  many 
parts  of  Asia  Minor,2  and  would  have  taken  place,  if 
the  news  that  Constantinople  was  in  the  hands  of  the 

1  [Two  months  later  I  was  informed  by  a  person,  whose  means 
of  learning  the  facts  are  excellent  and  whose  authority  is  to  me 
conclusive,  that  this  was  so.     He  named  the  officer  who  had 
carried  the  news  to  the  Army  of  Liberty,  a  personal  friend  of  his 
own.]     See  also  p.  83. 

2  [This  was  entirely  confirmed  by  the  information   which  we 
hear  from  numerous  witnesses  on  our  subsequent  journeys  in 
Anatolia.     The  fact  is  certain.] 


The  Plan  of  Massacre  163 

Salonica  soldiers  had  not  been  telegraphed  throughout 
the  country. 

Such  diabolical  schemes  may  appear  incredible, 
but  they  are  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  previous 
record  of  the  Sultan's  reign.  The  sole  doubt  that  re- 
mains is  whether  the  Sultan  was  aware  of  them  and 
sanctioned  them.  He  was  for  a  time  trying  to  make 
terms  with  the  Young  Turks  ;  he  was  ready  to  de- 
nounce his  own  supporters  and  agents  in  order  to  earn 
grace ;  and  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  long 
list  of  proscribed  persons,  part  of  which  was  published 
in  the  papers  on  Wednesday  2ist,  was  prepared 
through  his  connivance  and  partly  on  his  informa- 
tion. But  he  did  not  succeed  in  getting  thereby  what 
he  wanted,  viz.,  some  definite  pledge  or  guarantee. 
All  that  he  offered  was  accepted ;  but  nothing  was 
given  in  return  by  the  Army  of  Liberty,  which 
ostentatiously  referred  the  whole  question  to  the  con- 
stitutional authority,  the  Nation  speaking  through  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  Did  he,  in  despair  at  receiving 
only  an  evasive  reply  without  any  definite  promise, 
have  recourse  to  his  old  methods  ?  Or  did  his  agents 
and  servants,  knowing  that  they  would  be  sacrificed  to 
save  the  Sultan,  and  that  their  only  chance  of  safety 
lay  in  saving  his  autocratic  authority,  resolve  to  pro- 
voke European  intervention  by  demonstrating  that 
the  Army  of  Liberty  was  incapable  of  preserving 
order  and  that  it  was  a  permanent  danger? 

Very  few  people  show  any  disposition  to  accept  this 
view.  They  ask  if  it  is  possible  that  the  Sultan,  whom 
we  have  always  been  picturing  to  ourselves  as  the 


164  Saturday,  May  i 

most  absolute  autocrat  in  the  world,  holding  in  his 
hands  all  the  threads  of  government,  directing  every 
action  and  process  in  the  State,  could  be  ignorant  that 
such  a  vast  organisation  of  massacre  was  being  ar- 
ranged ?  Are  we  to  change  our  whole  conception  of 
the  man,  and  regard  him  as  having  been  hoodwinked 
into  passively  permitting  the  massacres  of  the  past  as 
well  as  those  which  were  planned  in  the  last  few  days 
of  his  reign?  It  is,  however,  possible,  as  some  few 
maintain,  to  distinguish  between  the  spirit  of  the  Sultan 
in  former  years  and  his  course  of  action  at  ' '  e  present 
time.  There  are,  as  these  persons  urge,  uther  con- 
siderations which  must  be  taken  into  account. 

It  is  quite  true  that  during  the  last  year  or  two  the 
Sultan  has  not  been  the  man  that  he  was  formerly. 
Well-informed  persons  have  at  several  different  times 
told  me  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  hold  all  the 
threads  together  so  well  as  he  once  could,  and  that,  as 
they  slipped  from  his  hands,  another  (whom  they 
named)  was  gradually  gathering  them  together  for 
himself.  It  is  true  also  that  the  telegram  which  re- 
lieved an  English  house  from  siege  by  the  Reactionary 
soldiers,  and  thus  brought  about  the  escape  of  Ahmed 
Mukhtar  Pasha  on  I3th  April  (as  has  been  related 
above),  was  sent  without  the  Sultan's  knowledge  or 
permission. 

But  it  is  going  much  further  to  say  that  such  a  wide- 
spread organisation  of  massacre  over  the  Empire,  as  is 
said  to  have  been  planned,  could  be  concocted  without 
his  knowing  of  it  or  sanctioning  it.  He  had  not  be- 
come a  roi  faineant.  No  one  seriously  thinks  that. 


The  Plan  of  Massacre  165 

Only  apologists  advance  this  explanation  on  his  behalf. 
The  same  explanation  was  advanced  by  apologists  for 
other  massacres  as  long  ago  as  the  year  1901.  My 
wife  was  then  talking  with  some  Turkish  ladies,  the 
family  of  a  very  high  official  in  the  Government,  who 
assured  her  that  the  Sultan  had  nothing  to  do  with 
originating  the  Armenian  massacres.  She  mentioned 
that  orders  signed  by  him  had  been  seen  by  trust- 
worthy witnesses.  They  replied  that  such  orders, 
whose  existence  was  acknowledged,  had  been  obtained 
without  firif  j-ealising  the  real  nature  of  the  documents 
which  hen was  signing,  as  he  was  misinformed  about 
their  character. 

The  gradual  weakening  of  the  Sultan's  intellectual 
grasp  is  a  fact  that  has  a  real  bearing  on  the  history  of 
events  and  the  course  of  intrigue  for  power  in  Con- 
stantinople during  the  last  year  or  two.  The  first 
hint  I  heard  of  it  was  in  1905,  at  the  time  when  the 
dispute  about  the  Turco- Egyptian  frontier  line  took 
place.  An  English  gentleman  of  high  standing  in 
Constantinople  was  talking  with  an  old  Turkish  friend, 
a  high  official  in  the  palace,  and  said  :  "  Now  tell  me, 
what  is  the  real  state  of  affairs  ?  "  He  replied  that  the 
truth  was  that  the  Sultan  was  becoming  slightly 
affected  in  intellect ;  that  the  form  which  his  mental 
malady  took  was  an  overweening  belief  in  his  own 
power  and  importance  ;  and  that  Mollahs  from  Arabia 
and  other  rascals  took  advantage  of  this  weakness  to 
flatter  and  cajole  him  for  their  own  ends ;  these  men 
told  him  that  the  English  would  never  dare  to  resist 
him,  and  that  he  had  simply  to  send  his  army  into 


1 66  Saturday,  May  i 

Egypt  and  eject  them.  After  some  further  talk  about 
the  situation,  the  Englishman  said :  "  But  you  know 
better ;  and  when  the  Sultan  consults  you,  you  of 
course  tell  him  the  real  facts  of  the  situation  ".  "  God 
forbid,"  replied  the  official  very  emphatically.  "  Shall 
I  tell  the  Sultan  anything  that  he  does  not  like?  It 
would  be  as  much  as  my  life  is  worth !  When  he 
asks  my  opinion,  I  say  to  him  that  the  master  of  a 
million  of  soldiers  has  but  to  issue  his  commands,  and 
they  are  executed.  And  it  is  not  for  nothing.  I  have 
perhaps  a  paper  ready  which  I  want  him  to  sign,  and, 
if  he  is  pleased  with  me,  he  signs  it,  and  it  is  worth  to 
me  10,000  piastres." 

Such  was  the  environment  in  which  the  affairs  of 
the  Empire  were  transacted.  The  nominal  Ministers 
at  the  Porte  had  little  influence  on  the  great  matters 
of  statesmanship  and  foreign  affairs.  The  palace  was 
the  centre  of  power,  and  the  Sublime  Porte  was  a 
merely  secondary  authority.  But  when  the  situation 
became  serious,  and  it  was  at  last  necessary  to  stop 
the  Sultan  from  fighting,  the  Grand  Vizier,  Ferid 
Pasha,  had  to  intervene.  We  happened  to  be  in  Con- 
stantinople during  the  week  when  peace  and  war  over 
the  frontier  question  were  hanging  in  the  balance, 
when  anxiety  was  great,  and  hope  of  peace  alternated 
with  fear  of  war.  To  many  friends  of  ours  all  over 
the  country  war  would  have  meant  serious  loss  and 
inconvenience,  and  would  have  endangered  their 
business  and  in  some  cases  even  their  lives.  The 
anxiety  grew  more  intense  as  the  days  passed  and 
the  negotiations  continued.  The  opinion  that  pre- 


Weakening  of  Abd-ul-Hamids  Intellect      167 

vailed  in  Constantinople  universally  was  that  the 
slightest  weakening  in  the  demands  made  by  England 
would  have  precipitated  war,  as  the  Sultan  would  have 
been  thereby  encouraged  in  the  belief,  sedulously 
instilled  into  him  by  the  palace  gang,  that  England 
would  never  dare  to  resist  effectively,  if  he  acted 
resolutely,  and  that  all  Moslems  in  Egypt  would  rally 
to  his  support.  It  was  universally  believed  also  that 
Sir  Nicholas  O'Connor,  the  Ambassador  (who  was 
already  weakened  by  the  fatal  disease  of  which  he  died 
in  1908),  was  counselling  concession  and  urging  that 
something  should  be  done  to  meet  the  Sultan  half- 
way, whereas  Sir  E.  Grey  was  said  to  be  disinclined 
to  make  any  concession.  The  sole  question  was 
whether  Sir  Nicholas  would  prevail,  and  war  ensue  as 
the  inevitable  result.  The  firmer  counsel  prevailed, 
and  war  was  averted.  Had  it  broken  out,  the  utter 
inability  of  Turkey  to  make  war  at  such  a  distant 
point  would  have  been  made  manifest  even  to  the 
Sultan.  As  to  the  action  of  Germany  (which  is  always 
the  other  factor  discussed  in  Constantinople),  opinion 
was  that  she  stood  aloof  and  gave  the  Sultan  no 
encouragement  to  break  the  peace ;  and  that  was  the 
account  given  me  even  by  persons  who  stated  their 
conviction  (based  as  they  said  on  positive  knowledge) 
that  she  had  been  actively  encouraging  the  discon- 
tented element  in  Egypt  not  long  before.  Such  were 
the  opinions  stated,  not  by  one  or  two  persons,  but 
(except  as  regards  the  last  point)  by  every  one  with 
whom  I  came  into  relations,  men  of  all  shades  of 
opinion  politically. 


1 68  Saturday ',  May  i 

After  making  all  allowance,  can  we  suppose  that 
the  Sultan  did  not  at  least  connive  at  the  plan  of 
massacre  (assuming,  as  is  now  the  universal  opinion, 
that  there  was  such  a  scheme)?  One  can  hardly 
do  so.  The  only  alternatives  seem  to  be  on  the  one 
hand  that  there  was  no  plan  of  massacre,  on  the  other 
hand  that  the  Sultan  permitted  it  to  be  carried  into 
effect,  either  actively  aiding  it,  or  passively  allowing 
the  steps  to  be  taken  by  others  while  he  kept  himself 
free  from  open  connection  with  it.  The  truth  is  not 
likely  ever  to  be  known  about  his  share  in  the  scheme, 
if  it  existed.1  If  it  did  not  exist,  time  will  soon  show. 
There  cannot  be  any  widespread  plan  without  traces 
easily  discoverable.  Opinion  will  have  to  be  decided 
by  future  events,  but  it  is  most  improbable  that  the 
Sultan  would  leave  any  traces  of  complicity  in  the 
plan. 

The  future  in  Turkey  is  an  anxious  one.  We  all 
hope  that  the  Young  Turks  will  succeed  in  their  hard 
task.  So  far  as  one  can  gather  from  the  best  sources, 
it  seems  pretty  certain  that  in  this  last  Revolution  a 
small  but  educated  and  active  minority  won.  The 
majority  of  the  Turks  are  now  rather  lukewarm  in 

1  [It  became  known  later  that  the  Committee  of  Investigation 
had  reported  that  no  evidence  was  discovered  implicating  the 
Sultan  in  the  Adana  massacre.  This  massacre  was  earlier  than 
the  general  plan  of  which  I  speak  in  the  text.  It  broke  out 
on  the  day  following  the  Mutiny  of  i3th  April.  The  Vali  of 
Adana  was  certainly  deeply  concerned  in  it,  secretly  encouraged 
it  in  many  ways,  and  refused  to  allow  soldiers  to  be  employed  to 
check  it ;  and  he  defended  himself  by  pleading  that  he  was  acting 
under  orders  from  Constantinople.] 


Difficulties  of  the  Future  169 

their  support  of  the  Committee,  but  they  are  apathetic 
and  lazy,  and  do  not  feel  inclined  to  make  any  move. 
The  old  Sultan's  former  unpopularity  among  the  mass 
of  the  Turks  seems  to  have  disappeared  in  considerable 
degree  during  the  last  winter,  when  the  other  side,  be- 
ing in  power,  found  great  difficulty  in  producing  any 
real  improvement  in  the  conditions  of  government  and 
life.  The  one  important  gain  was  in  the  abolition  of 
espionage,  but  this  great  benefit  is  soon  forgotten. 
The  popular  memory  is  short ;  and  men  look  more  to 
possible  benefits  in  the  future,  and  forget  the  benefits 
of  the  past.  Moreover,  the  poorer  classes  had  suffered 
least  from  this  cause,  while  they  had  some  chances  of 
gaining  money  in  one  way  or  other  from  the  old  Sultan. 

It  is  said  that  during  last  winter  he  curtailed  or  cut 
off  entirely  various  charitable  distributions  which  he 
used  to  make  to  Moslems  of  the  city,  especially  those 
in  the  district  called  Beshik-Tash,  adjoining  Yildiz 
Kiosk.  A  deputation  from  the  Beshik-Tash  people 
came  to  beg  that  he  would  continue  his  winter  dona- 
tion, but  was  refused  an  audience,  and,  when  they 
were  retiring,  the  Sultan  looked  from  a  window  at 
them  and  called  out  in  Turkish  "  Vive  la  Constitution  ". 
According  to  these  accounts,  he  aimed  consistently  at 
driving  home  to  the  minds  of  the  Moslem  masses 
how  much  they  had  lost  by  the  introduction  of  the 
Parliamentary  system. 

I  heard  a  quaint  account  of  one  of  the  Sultan's 
spies  to-day.  These  men  were  of  all  nationalities  and 
of  every  rank  in  life  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest. 
There  were  some  Englishmen  among  them,  and  one 


170  Saturday,  May  i 

of  these  had  been  an  officer  in  our  army  of  very  good 
family  ;  relatives  of  his  have  served  their  own  country 
with  distinction  and  unstained  honour.  He  had  drifted 
finally  into  a  dubious  and  idle  life  in  Constantinople. 
An  English  resident,  whose  fearless  assertion  of  his 
right  to  report  the  truth  freely  outside  regarding  the 
state  of  things  in  Constantinople  was  well  known,  and 
gained  him  universal  respect  and  influence,  was  once 
invited  by  this  person  to  dine  with  him  to  meet  two 
Turkish  officials.  Having  only  the  most  distant  ac- 
quaintance with  the  officer,  and  regarding  the  invita- 
tion as  rather  an  unjustified  freedom,  he  declined. 
The  dinner  took  place  without  him  ;  and  the  two 
Turks,  who  were  already  a  little  suspected  of  enter- 
taining liberal  opinions,  revealed  very  freely  their 
sentiments  in  conversation  with  an  Englishman.  It 
may  be  remarked  that  the  Turks  habitually  speak 
their  mind  with  great  freedom,  and  found  the  spy 
surveillance  to  which  under  the  Sultan's  regime  they 
were  subjected  a  most  aggravating  annoyance ;  even 
with  that  danger  always  threatening  them,  when  they 
could  rarely  be  sure  that  they  were  not  within  a  spy's 
hearing,  it  was  astonishing  how  openly  they  spoke. 
Next  day  a  report  was  sent  in  to  the  palace  of  all 
that  they  had  said.  Fortunately  the  Secretary,  whose 
business  it  was  to  receive  these  documents  and  pass 
them  on  to  the  Sultan,  was  a  friend  of  theirs.  He 
sent  for  them,  told  them  what  had  come  into  his  hands, 
and  said  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  stop  the 
course  of  the  report ;  but  there  was  one  thing  he  could 
do  for  them,  and  that  was  to  advise  them  to  draw  up 


Story  of  a  Spy  171 


and  send  in  after  the  usual  fashion  a  report  of  what 
their  host  had  said  at  the  dinner.  This  was  done 
forthwith.  The  Secretary  received  the  accusation, 
and  bade  them  be  somewhere  not  far  distant.  He 
then  sent  for  the  English  spy,  told  him  that  his  de- 
nunciation would  go  forward  to  the  Sultan  in  due 
course,  but  that  as  a  friend  he  would  like  to  show 
him  another  report  which  had  come  in  at  the  same 
time  of  the  same  event,  and  then  he  read  him  the 
denunciation  of  himself.  "  But,"  said  the  spy,  "  that 
is  all  false."  "So  they  say  of  yours,"  replied  the 
Secretary,  "and  they  are  two  against  one.  Both  re- 
ports must  go  to  the  Sultan,  and  he  will  decide  which 
to  believe."  Finally,  after  some  serious  talk,  the 
Secretary  suggested  that  he  would  try  whether  he 
could  induce  the  two  Turks  to  consent  to  a  simul- 
taneous withdrawal  of  both  denunciations,  and  so  it 
was  soon  arranged.  The  two  Turks  are  now  pro- 
minent members  of  the  Young  Turk  party.  The 
story  about  the  spy  became  known,  and  an  intimation 
was  conveyed  to  him  that,  if  he  ever  again  entered 
the  Club  de  Constantinople  (of  which  he  was  a 
member),  he  would  be  carried  out  and  deposited  in 
the  dirtiest  part  of  the  street. 

Sunday,  May  2. — The  morning  service  in  the 
College  was  to  me  the  most  affecting  service  at  which 
I  have  ever  been  present.  I  have  occasionally  heard 
a  sermon  which  affected  me  deeply,  notably  one  by  my 
old  friend  Dr.  Forsyth  when  I  was  a  student  in  Aber- 
deen ;  he  was  only  three  years  senior  to  me,  and  it  was 
his  first  sermon.  He  is  now  Principal  of  the  Congre- 


172  Sunday,  May  2 


gational  College  in  London  ;  but  I  doubt  if  he  has  ever 
preached  a  sermon  since  in  which  one  heart  spoke  so 
direct  to  another  as  in  that  case.  Doubtless  it  was 
juvenile  ;  but  we  were  both  very  juvenile  then. 

At  the  Women's  College  to-day  it  was  the  whole 
situation  that  was  so  impressive.  The  College  is 
right  in  the  centre  of  the  Armenian  quarter,  which  is 
defenceless  against  the  Mohammedan  rabble  of 
Scutari,  and  which  would  have  been  the  scene  of 
indescribable  horrors  if  the  Army  of  Liberty  had 
not  won.  The  girls  are,  with  very  rare  exceptions, 
Armenian,  Bulgarian  or  Greek ;  and  would  there- 
fore have  been,  according  to  the  theory  and  practice 
of  the  old  regime,  exposed  to  massacre  without  any 
rights.  Would  the  American  flag  have  been  a  suffi- 
cient protection  against  a  mob  of  the  city  rabble, 
"lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort,"  intoxicated  by 
plunder  and  greed,  and  urged  on  by  religious  fanatics  ? 
I  doubt  it.  So  far  as  I  can  judge,  the  situation  of 
European  institutions  in  a  quarter  like  Scutari  would 
have  been  more  dangerous  than  in  towns  of  the  inner 
parts  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  where  the  respect  for  Euro- 
peans is  greater;  among  those  people  "Amellika" 
ranks  as  a  part  of  Europe,  and  they  rarely  know 
whether  Londra  is  in  Amellika  or  Amellika  is  a  dis- 
trict of  Londra.  The  probability  is  great  that  the 
College  would  have  been  attacked  and  sacked  along 
with  the  Armenian  houses  around.  There  was  little 
chance  of  successful  resistance,  though  the  American 
ladies  and  the  Croat  servants,  two  or  three  in  number, 
had  provided  themselves  with  arms  and  would  have 


Sunday  at  the   Women  s  College  173 

defended  the  College  to  the  utmost.  The  Croats 
would  have  done  well,  and  they  would  have  known 
that  successful  resistance  was  their  only  chance  of 
escape,  while  absolute  courage  seems  to  be  the  in- 
alienable birthright  of  all  Americans.  There  was  a 
fighting  chance  ;  but  some  of  the  girls  were  in  a  state 
of  helpless  panic  even  when  the  danger  was  only  a 
vague  terror  of  the  future,  and  many  might  have 
proved  an  encumbrance  and  a  weakness  if  the  peril 
had  become  real. 

An  American  lady  to  whom  I  was  speaking  in  the 
afternoon,  a  resident  for  many  years  in  Constanti- 
nople, expressed  the  strongest  indignation  at  the  con- 
duct of  the  American  Embassy  to  the  College.  The 
Embassy  had  100  extra  guards  protecting  it  through 
the  comparatively  peaceful  time  of  the  occupation  ; 
and  the  Embassy  is  in  the  heart  of  the  European 
quarter  at  Pera ;  it  is  a  building  far  more  capable  of 
defence ;  it  is  surrounded  by  European  houses,  which 
would  have  had  to  be  all  captured  before  it  could  be 
attacked ;  it  was  peopled  by  men  used  to  arms.  Yet, 
as  this  American  lady  declared,  the  Embassy  could 
not  spare  one  man  with  the  American  uniform  to  give 
some  official  protection  to  the  College  with  its  100 
women,  utterly  indefensible  in  its  open  garden,  sur- 
rounded by  Armenian  houses,  which  would  all  have 
been  destroyed  in  the  first  stage  of  the  projected 
massacre.  The  ladies  of  the  College  had  not  men- 
tioned the  subject  to  me,  but  I  asked  one  of  them 
about  the  conduct  of  the  Embassy,  and  inquired  whether 
they  had  not  thought  it  advisable  to  inform  the 


174  Monday,  May  3 


Ambassador  of  their  dangerous  situation  and  their 
anxiety  and  responsibility.  She  said  that  they  had 
sent  a  message  to  the  Embassy  a  day  or  two  before, 
and  the  reply  had  been  returned  that  they  need  not 
be  anxious,  as  there  was  nothing  to  fear. 

In  the  service  no  allusion  even  in  the  most  distant 
way  was  made  to  the  recent  crisis.  Everything  went 
on  as  if  the  recent  College  life  had  been  perfectly 
normal  in  its  course.  What  one  specially  admires  is 
the  way  in  which  all  the  ladies  in  charge  of  the  College 
proceeded  with  their  ordinary  duties  throughout  this 
time ;  yet  I  do  not  doubt  they  would  have  resisted 
to  the  end  rather  than  allow  any  Turkish  soldiers  to 
enter. 

The  trial  of  those  charged  with  complicity  in  the 
riots  and  murders  of  the  I3th  has  been  going  on  dur- 
ing the  last  few  days. 

Monday \  May  3. — This  morning,  on  crossing  the 
Galata  Bridge  on  my  way  to  do  some  work  in  Stam- 
boul,  I  found  a  crowd  densely  wedged  together  at  the 
Stamboul  end.  Most  of  them  were  standing  gazing 
at  three  corpses  of  mutineers  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Bridge.  These  men  had  been  hanged  at  daybreak, 
and  the  dead  bodies  were  still  suspended  inside  tall 
wooden  tripods.  They  were  dressed  in  long  white 
tunics,  and  the  pale  faces  and  the  heads  twisted  side- 
ways looked  ghastly.  It  was  a  horrible  sight,  which 
a  single  glance  photographed  on  my  memory.  It 
took  about  five  minutes  to  force  a  way  through  the 
gaping  crowd,  keeping  as  far  away  as  possible  from 
the  three,  and  from  the  soldiers  who  guarded  them. 


Execution  of  Mutineers  175 

When  I  returned  to  Pera,  three  hours  later,  there  was 
still  a  considerable  crowd,  causing  some  detention 
once  more.  Thirteen  soldiers  in  all  were  hanged  this 
morning  at  three  different  places  in  the  city.  One 
was  an  old  man  with  white  beard,  a  Major  (Bin- 
Bashi,  "  Head  of  a  Thousand"),  who  was  condemned 
by  the  court-martial  as  having  taken  a  very  active 
part  in  inciting  the  Mutiny. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  I  learned  that  Ferid  Pasha, 
having  been  appointed  Minister  of  the  Interior,  had 
returned  yesterday  from  Smyrna  (where  he  had  been 
Governor  of  the  Province  or  Vilayet),  and  entered 
to-day  on  his  duties.  With  him  at  the  head,  Anatolia 
will  be  kept  in  order ;  and  I  feel  now  much  more 
confident  as  to  the  prospect  of  travelling.  He  knows 
how  to  make  business  move  and  how  to  get  things 
done  in  the  rough-and-ready  fashion  that  suits  the 
East.  He  is  a  great  administrator  for  Turkey. 

I  returned  to  Scutari  in  high  spirits,  and  we  set 
about  preparing  to  start  by  the  morning  train  on 
Wednesday.  It  will  not  be  necessary  now  to  wait 
until  the  Embassy  procures  travelling  orders  in  the 
regular  official  course,  as  I  know  that  Ferid  Pasha 
will  fix  up  our  business  for  us  without  delay. 

My  wife's  account  of  a  visit  to  a  Young  Turk  lady 
is  added. 

"  Miss  Dodd,  one  of  the  Professors  at  the  College, 
and  another  American  lady,  the  greater  part  of  whose 
life  has  been  spent  in  Turkey,  were  kind  enough  to 
take  my  daughter  and  me  to  call  upon  a  Turkish 
lady  who  has,  along  with  some  other  women,  taken  a 


176  Monday,  May  3 


not  unimportant  part  in  the  national  movement. 
Before  leaving  the  College  Miss  Dodd  put  into  my 
hand  a  small  pamphlet,  which  contained,  among  other 
articles,  one  which  I  quote  in  order  to  give  some 
idea  of  the  influence  of  Mohammedan  women  on  this 
movement.  The  writer,  Halideh  Salih,  is  a  graduate 
of  the  American  College  for  Girls  and  a  writer  of 
distinction.  She  has  frequently  been  described  as 
*  the  leading  woman  in  Turkey  in  popularity  and 
influence'.  Her  first  published  work  was  a  transla- 
tion into  Turkish  of  an  English  book,  The  Mother 
in  the  Home,  for  which  she  was  decorated  by  the 
Sultan.  (It  always  strikes  me  as  remarkable  that  a 
Mohammedan  Sultan,  and  that  Sultan  Abd-ul-Hamid 
II.,  should  be  the  first  monarch  to  bestow  such  a 
distinction  upon  a  woman.)  The  article  appeared 
shortly  after  the  granting  of  the  Constitution  in  1 908. 
I  quote  only  part  of  it,  but  in  her  own  words  : — 

" '  Before  the  Constitution  women  were  of  no  im- 
portance ;  they  were  a  neglected  quantity,  and,  like 
other  neglected  elements,  were  supposed  to  have  no 
right  to  stand  up  for  themselves.  Besides,  it  was 
generally  supposed  that  there  were  few  or  no  women 
who  were  able  to  speak  for  themselves,  but  to-day 
the  contrary  is  proved. 

"  '  Among  the  influences  that  were  working  during 
the  last  thirty  years  for  liberty,  the  role  of  the  Turkish 
women  was  considerable,  although  indirect.  The 
influence  which  brought  about  our  revolution  was  a 
revolt  against  the  misdoings  of  the  Government,  and 
some  of  these  specially  appealed  to  women.  Barbar- 


Views  of  a   Young  Turk  Lady  177 

ous  and  secret  cruelties  crushed  the  life  and  spilt  the 
best  blood  of  Turkey's  children.  Constantinople  was 
the  most  stricken  city  in  the  Empire.  Eighty  thousand 
were  sent  away  from  its  gates  into  exile,  misery, 
chains  and  torture ;  some  to  death  or  even  worse. 
These  victims  were  mostly  students,  youths,  anybody 
who  had  an  independent  spirit  or  talents,  or  who  was 
known  even  to  read  a  page  of  a  foreign  newspaper, 
or  was  supposed  to  have  done  so.  There  were  also 
many,  mostly  from  the  middle  class,  the  sturdy,  the 
honest,  the  patient  middle-class  Turks.  Now  the 
mental  attitude  of  the  mothers  and  wives  of  these 
victims  is  easy  to  see.  The  majority  of  Turkish 
women  in  Constantinople,  even  among  those  who 
hardly  understand  the  meaning  of  liberty,  are  for  the 
Constitution,  which  assures  the  lives  of  their  children 
and  husbands,  which  lifts  the  horrible  uncertainty  and 
fear  of  having  an  unknown  fate  hanging  over  the 
heads  of  their  beloved.  .  .  .  The  generation  of  women 
who  have  already  been  the  means  of  propagating  large 
and  liberal  ideas  are  an  educated  minority.  They  are 
the  fortunate  few  who  were  not  morally  maimed  by 
some  of  the  foolish  and  unworthy  creatures  who  call 
themselves  governesses.  They  are  the  women  who 
had  by  chance  fallen  into  good  hands,  or  had  been 
taught  by  their  fathers  or  husbands.  Naturally  this 
minority  understood  that  the  salvation  of  a  nation 
lies  in  the  proper  education  of  high-minded  and 
patriotic  women.  They  understood  that  the  reason 
why  Anglo-Saxons  occupy  so  lofty  a  moral  position 

in  the  world's  civilisation  is  their  sacred   ideas  of 

12 


178  Monday,  May  3 


womanhood  and  home.  These  women  have  worked 
silently,  but  knowingly,  bringing  up  liberal-minded 
sons  and  patriotic  daughters,  building  honest  hearths 
where  real  comradeship  dwells,  where  a  man  is 
encouraged  to  go  on  serving  his  country,  although 
that  service  meant  sometimes  worse  than  death.  .  .  . 
All  that  they  ask  for  is  a  liberal  education  and  a 
right  to  accompany  their  husbands  and  to  become  fit 
educators  of  the  future  generation.  What  they  can 
do  in  future  will  be  decided  by  the  kind  of  instruction 
they  will  get.  I  am  very  glad  to  be  able  to  address 
English-speaking  women  on  behalf  of  all  Turkish 
women.  We  are  doing  our  best  to  place  English 
influence  and  the  English  language  foremost  in  our 
future  schools  for  girls. 

" c  The  actual  cry  of  the  Turkish  woman  to  more 
civilised  womanhood,  especially  to  England  and 
America,  is  this  :  You  go  and  teach  the  savage,  you 
descend  into  slums.  Come  to  this  land  where  the  most 
terrible  want,  the  want  of  knowledge,  exists.  Come 
and  help  us  to  disperse  the  dark  clouds  of  ignorance. 
We  are  working  ever  so  hard  to  get  away  from  the 
slavery  of  ignorance.  The  opening  of  schools  by  the 
English  everywhere  in  Turkey  would  be  welcomed 
by  Turkish  mothers.  Simple,  healthy,  human  teach- 
ing, such  as  Anglo-Saxons  are  able  to  give,  is  what 
we  want.  Give  us  living  examples  of  your  great 
serious  women.  But  let  the  conditions  be  such  that 
poorer  classes  may  have  it  in  their  power  to  send 
their  children  to  school.  For  we  ask  not  luxury  or 
grand  institutions  where  comfort  is  found,  but  for 


Views  of  a  Young  Turk  Lady  179 

simple  teaching.  More  than  for  bread  and  water, 
more  than  any  other  want,  we  cry  for  knowledge  and 
healthy  Anglo-Saxon  influence.' 

"  I  confess  that  it  gave  me  intense  pleasure  to  know 
that  in  their  time  of  need  the  women  of  Turkey  are 
looking  for  help  to  the  women  of  England  and 
America,  and  feel  that  the  kind  of  liberty  they  desire 
is  found  among  the  Anglo-Saxons.  The  following 
address  to  the  Armenians,  which  was  published  by 
the  same  lady  after  the  terrible  massacres  which  be- 
gan at  Adana  on  I4th  April  of  this  year,  shows  the 
passionate  patriotism  and  love  for  human  kind  that 
animates  her  and  other  women  of  the  Young  Turk 
party  :- 

"  *  To  MY  ARMENIAN  BRETHREN. 

"  '  It  was  a  bloody  nightmare  of  thirty  long  years  ! 
A  black  and  horrible  nightmare,  whose  wings  of 
death,  stretched  over  the  bosom  of  our  motherland, 
ceased  not  from  tearing  the  hearts  of  her  children. 
Wherever  its  shadow  fell  it  reflected  tears  of  blood. 
Now  that  tragedy  of  sorrow  and  carnage  passes,  but 
behold  the  places  it  has  passed  :  thousands  of  extin- 
guished hearths,  ruined  homes  deserted,  burnt  ashes 
of  once  flourishing  lands,  heaps  of  bones  of  mutilated 
humanity ! 

"  '  My  poor  Armenian  brethren,  you  are  the  greatest 
victims  of  the  Hamidian  nightmare.  The  fiery  joy 
of  my  soul  for  our  re-established  liberty  turns  to  ice 
in  the  face  of  your  darkened,  desolate  lands,  the  sad 
fate  of  your  homeless,  motherless  little  ones !  Our 


180  Monday,  May  3 

national  joy  falls  in  the  dust  with  shame  before  this 
awful  tragedy,  reflected  in  the  eyes  of  your  bereaved 
women ! 

"  *  The  ruins  of  Adana  !  O  vast,  bloody  grave  of 
my  countrymen,  you  are  a  humiliation,  not  only  to 
the  Turks  who  caused  it,  but  to  the  whole  human 
race.  My  soul  lies  in  the  very  dust  for  shame  of  kin- 
ship with  the  race  that  murdered  you,  while  it  moans 
and  weeps  in  pain  and  sorrow  for  you  all. 

" '  I  come  to  you  in  the  name  of  the  murdered 
Young  Turks,  the  heroes  that  are  ever  ready  to  die 
for  the  motherland,  yet  consider  human  life  so  sacred 
that  they  have  shrunk  from  shedding  the  blood  of 
their  very  enemies.  I  come  from  the  graves  of  those 
martyred  ones  ;  I  come  humbly  to  pray  for  your  for- 
giveness and  your  love !  O  believe  me,  my  brethren, 
in  me  is  the  repentance  and  shame  of  the  whole  pre- 
sent and  future  Turkish  race ;  I  but  re-echo  the 
mourning  of  our  beloved  country  for  you  all. 

"  '  Now  the  word  is  yours,  O  great  Ottoman  nation  ! 
The  new  generation,  inspired  by  such  high  and  shin- 
ing ideals  as  Niazi's  and  Enver's,  such  young  and 
manly  hearts  that  have  died  for  justice  and  right  with 
magnificent  courage,  it  is  they  who  uphold  the  honour 
of  the  Ottoman  race  at  the  edge  of  their  swords.  The 
same  iron  resolve  that  has  swept  away  a  bloody 
nightmare  and  upset  a  terrible  throne,  must  wipe  out 
the  blood  of  our  Armenian  brethren,  that  reddens  the 
hands  of  our  people.  March  on,  heroes  !  The  Ar- 
menians are  your  first  brothers-in-arms  that  have  died 
for  your  cause  and  principles.  The  thirty  thousand 


Visit  to  another  Young  Turk  Lady         181 

dead,  the  ruined  land,  the  living  country  turned  into  a 
silent  tomb,  a  murdered  people  of  defenceless  men, 
helpless  women,  innocent  children,  demand  vengeance  ! 
If  the  murderers  are  not  punished  for  those  atrocities 
they  have  committed  in  the  name  of  religion,  the 
blood  of  our  Armenian  brethren  will  remain  for  ever 
a  red  stain  on  the  name  of  the  Young  Turks. 

" '  I  see  with  great  satisfaction  that  the  Moslems  of 
Egypt  protest  against  the  atrocities  of  Adana  in  the 
name  of  Islam.  I  am  almost  sure  that  my  Egyptian 
brethren  will  equally  help  those  that  are  left  in  misery 
and  bereavement  after  the  massacres  that  darken  the 
sacred  religion  of  Mohammed. 

"  *  HALIDEH  SALIH.' 

"  Our  visit  was  not  to  Halideh  Salih  Hanoum, 
who  at  this  time  was  absent  from  Constantinople 
along  with  her  husband,  but  to  another  lady  who  is 
just  as  devoted  to  her  people  and  to  the  cause  of 
liberty,  and  who  was  also  educated  at  the  American 
College.  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  give  her  name, 
which  is  not  so  well  known  to  the  public  as  that  of 
the  other  lady,  and  so  for  convenience'  sake  will 
speak  of  her  as  the  Lady  Zobeyide — which  is  not  her 
real  name  or  anything  like  it.  The  house  was  one 
of  a  row,  evidently  new,  of  modest  size.  The  room 
in  which  we  were  received  was  well  supplied  with 
windows,  sunny  and  airy,  and  furnished  in  European 
fashion  with  chairs,  sofa  and  a  centre  table.  The 
Lady  Zobeyide  with  her  two  little  girls  received  us 
all  most  kindly,  and  was  evidently  delighted  to  see 


1 82  Monday,  May  3 

her  American  friends.  She  is  rather  small  in  stature, 
with  the  elegance  of  shape  and  grace  of  movement 
that  are  characteristic  of  the  Turkish  ladies  of  Con- 
stantinople. Her  gracefulness  had  no  languor  in  it. 
On  the  contrary,  she  seemed  strong  and  vigorous. 
Her  beautiful  eyes  were  radiant,  and  I  think  grey  in 
colour,  but  it  was  difficult  to  tell,  as  they  changed 
their  hue  constantly  as  she  talked.  Her  thick  dark 
hair,  done  in  European  fashion,  was  slightly  streaked 
with  grey,  although  she  looked  scarcely  more  than  a 
girl  in  age.  Her  name,  as  well  as  her  husband's,  was 
on  the  '  Black  List '  among  those  of  the  persons 
whom  Abd-ul-Hamid  had  marked  for  vengeance  as 
leaders  of  the  reform  movement.  We  already  knew 
that  she  had  only  just  returned  to  her  home  after 
having  had  to  flee  for  her  life  when  the  Revolution 
took  place.  She  told  us  how  she  had  had  to  leave 
her  bed  at  a  moment's  notice  with  her  baby  only  ten 
days  old,  and  her  other  two  little  children,  and  seek 
refuge  in  the  house  of  friends.  Her  husband  would 
not  have  been  safe  even  there,  and  he  found  shelter 
in  the  little  cottage  of  a  poor  old  Turkish  widow.  As 
a  man  of  letters  and  the  proprietor  of  the  leading 
newspaper  of  the  Young  Turk  party,  he  was  an  object 
of  special  detestation  to  Abd-ul-Hamid,  and  his  office 
was  the  only  building  sacked  on  I3th  April  by  the 
revolutionary  soldiers,  who  smashed  his  printing  press 
and  everything  in  the  place.  As  soon  as  the  Army 
of  Liberty  entered  Constantinople  the  fugitives  were 
safe  and  able  to  return  to  their  own  home. 

"  Referring  to  the  adverse  criticisms  passed  on  the 


Visit  to  another  Young  Turk  Lady         183 

Committee  of  Union  and  Progress  on  the  ground 
that  it  had  retained  control  of  the  Government,  after 
the  Revolution  of  July,  1908,  she  gave  the  defence 
stated  above  on  p.  8,  1.  24  ff. 

"We  spoke  also  of  the  massacre  that  had  been 
planned  by  Abd-ul-Hamid  for  the  23rd,  and  she  said 
that  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress,  of  which 
both  she  and  her  husband  are  members,  had  received 
absolutely  authentic  information  that  it  was  ordered ; 
that  not  only  all  Christians,  of  whatever  nationality 
they  might  be,  but  all  members  of  the  Reform  Party 
were  included  ;  and  that  the  killing  was  to  begin  at 
the  Turkish  Boys'  High  Schools. 

"  Like  Halideh  Salih  Hanoum,  the  Lady  Zobeyide 
has  frequently  contributed  to  the  literature  of  Reform 
and  is  passionately  patriotic.  I  have  already  men- 
tioned that  she  was  educated  at  the  American  College 
for  Girls  at  Scutari.  She  entered  the  preparatory 
school  when  she  was  about  seven  years  of  age,  and 
learned  to  speak  and  read  English  very  quickly. 
Miss  Dodd  told  me  that  one  day,  when  she  had  not 
been  very  long  at  school,  the  class  was  reading  from 
an  American  lesson-book  and  came  to  the  statement 
that '  the  Turks  were  lazy  and  ignorant '.  With  flash- 
ing eyes  the  little  Turkish  girl  sprang  from  her  place, 
threw  the  lesson-book  on  the  ground,  and  cried  out 
three  times  :  '  Stupid  Americans !  Stupid  Americans ! 
Stupid  Americans! '  Her  love  for,  and  faith  in,  her 
own  people  are  stronger  than  ever,  but  she  would  no 
longer  say  '  stupid  Americans  '.  Like  Halideh  Salih, 
she  shows  an  almost  passionate  affection  for  her  Alma 


184  Tuesday,  May  4 


Mater   and   for    the    American   women   who    have 
educated  her,  and  to  whom  Turkey  owes  so  much." 

Tuesday,  May  4. — I  went  first  to  Ferid  Pasha's 
house,  which  is  in  the  quarter  called  Nishan  Tash,  far 
away  out  towards  Yildiz,  but  was  too  late.  He  had 
already  gone  to  the  Sublime  Porte,  at  an  hour  quite 
unusually  early  in  Turkish  official  life,  to  begin  a  long 
day  of  business.  The  man  who  is  going  to  regulate 
the  affairs  of  Anatolia  must  begin  work  early  at 
present.  The  door-keeper,  when  I  asked  for  the 
Pasha,  replied  simply,  "  Kapua  gitdi,"  "  He  has  gone 
to  the  Gate  ".  The  correct  name  of  the  Porte  is  Bab- 
i-ali ;  but  the  common  people  use  the  simple  word 
"  Gate  ".  I  had  therefore  to  drive  back  through  Pera 
and  across  the  Galata  Bridge  to  Stamboul. 

On  the  way  I  stopped  at  the  Embassy,  and  saw 
Mr.  Fitzmaurice,  who  possesses  an  exceptional  know- 
ledge of  Turkey  and  a  remarkable  power  of  getting 
on  with  Orientals.  I  always  trust  greatly  to  his 
advice,  and  have  been  much  indebted  to  his  help. 
He  had  already  promised  to  do  all  in  his  power  to 
facilitate  our  way.  When  I  saw  him  he  knew  before 
I  spoke  what  I  had  come  to  say,  viz.,  that  it  was 
unnecessary  for  him  to  take  any  further  trouble  in  the 
matter  of  procuring  travelling  orders.  As  he  bade 
me  good-bye  and  wished  us  good  fortune,  he  said, 
"If  it  were  not  that  you  have  such  knowledge  of 
Turkey,1  I  would  advise  you  not  to  go  at  present 
into  the  inner  country". 

1He  put  it  even  more  strongly,  but  I  do  not  venture  to 
repeat  exactly  his  complimentary  words.  Compliment  on  such 


Farewell  Calls  185 


I  then  called  on  Mr.  Pears1  to  say  good-bye,  and 
stayed  to  lunch,  which  his  hospitality  always  proffers 
to  us  by  a  permanent  standing  invitation.  Hearing 
that  I  was  going  to  the  Porte,  he  sent  a  special  message 
of  congratulation  to  Ferid  Pasha.  Mr.  Pears  has 
maintained  his  own  position  and  opinions  for  more  than 
thirty  years  under  Abd-ul-Hamid  II.  ;  he  has  ex- 
pressed his  mind  freely  in  speech  and  writing ;  he  has 
resisted  all  efforts  to  cajole,  to  buy  and  to  expel  him  ; 
and  he  has  lived  to  see  his  enemy  driven  from  the 
sovereignty  and  made  a  state  prisoner. 

The  Palace  of  Yildiz  Kiosk  and  its  grounds  are  to 
be  made  a  public  park  and  show-place  after  it  has 
been  thoroughly  searched  for  valuables  and  papers. 
A  commission  is  to  be  charged  with  the  task  of  ex- 
amining the  palace ;  and  it  is  said  that  Hamdy  Bey, 
the  director  (and  really  the  creator)  of  the  Imperial 
Museum,  is  to  be  the  president  of  the  commission. 
Until  this  examination  has  been  concluded  the  palace 
will  not  be  open  to  the  public.  I  daresay  that  we 
might  succeed  in  getting  permission  to  see  the  place 
privately ;  but  we  are  eager  to  get  away  to  our  work 
in  Asiatic  Turkey,  and  it  would  take  time  to  get 
arrangements  made  for  a  private  inspection. 

[I  may  add  here  what  I  learned  afterwards  about 
the  commission,  whose  report  was  not  published. 
They  found  the  palace  in  confusion.  Nothing  seemed 
to  have  been  done  to  conceal  the  old  condition. 

a  matter  from  a  man  who  knows  the  East  so  intimately  as  Mr. 
Fitzmaurice  is  a  thing  to  be  proud  of. 
1  Now  Sir  Edwin  Pears. 


1 86  Tuesday,  May  4 


There  had  been  apparently  no  attempt  to  destroy  in- 
criminating evidence.  Everything  remained  as  it  was 
on  the  day  before  the  final  attack  began  on  Constanti- 
nople :  the  palace  gang  had  been  in  perplexity  and 
despair  :  no  one,  from  the  Sultan  downwards,  thought 
of  doing  anything  or  taking  any  steps  except  with  a 
view  to  saving  each  his  own  life.  Money,  jewels, 
papers,  everything,  lay  about  in  disorder,  though  it 
may  be  supposed  that  the  ladies  of  the  harem  took 
their  jewels  with  them.  The  men-servants,  perhaps, 
might  be  searched  before  being  removed ;  and  it  is 
improbable  that  they  took  much  away  with  them. 
They  were  as  a  rule  in  too  great  anxiety  about  their 
immediate  fate  to  think  about  the  remoter  future. 
Most  of  them  were  too  humble  to  have  been  guilty  of 
much  harm ;  but  it  has  been  the  rule  of  the  East  in 
past  time  to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  the  entire  house- 
hold of  a  dethroned  despot,  as  there  was  a  presump- 
tion that  his  whole  entourage  would  be  hostile  to  the 
new  regime ;  the  servants  had  profited  by  the  old 
system,  and  had  participated  more  or  less  in  its 
rascality,  therefore  the  safest  way  was  to  do  away 
with  the  whole  of  them.  Moreover,  public  feeling 
has  always  recognised  a  certain  tie  of  mutual  duty 
between  master  and  servant ;  generally  the  tie  was  a 
real  and  strong  bond  of  unity  ;  servants  and  masters 
were  true  to  one  another  ;  and  the  most  faithful  friends 
and  trustworthy  agents  whom  a  master  could  find 
were  his  own  personal  slaves.  It  is  therefore  not 
strange  that  the  whole  household  at  Yildiz  was  in  such 
deep  anxiety,  although  in  the  issue  none  of  them  were 
killed  except  for  proved  crime. 


State  of  Yildiz  Palace  187 

As  to  money  it  was  said  that  large  sums  were  found 
in  the  palace,  between  ,£200,000  and  £300,000  in 
coin.  Packets  of  ancient  gold  coins,  Roman  and 
Byzantine,  many  of  them  unopened,  were  found. 
These  had  been  sent  to  the  palace  in  parcels  by 
Governors  of  Provinces  and  other  officials,  as  they 
were  discovered.  From  a  rough  calculation  made  in 
accordance  with  the  attached  dockets,  without  ex- 
amination of  the  coins  themselves,  the  total  number 
of  ancient  gold  coins  appeared  to  be  about  48,000. 
These  were  all  removed  to  the  Imperial  Museum, 
where  they  await  examination,  when  some  one  can  be 
found  with  leisure  and  knowledge  for  the  task. 

As  to  papers,  an  immense  number  were  found. 
Two  classes,  especially,  claim  notice.  There  were 
numerous  official  reports  on  business  and  on  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Provinces  or  Vilayets  of  the  Empire. 
The  seals  on  many  of  these  were  intact.  Governors 
might  report  and  ask  instructions ;  but  there  was  no 
time  even  to  read  their  statements.  There  were  also 
great  numbers  of  reports  by  spies.  These  had  all 
been  opened,  and  from  notes  on  many  of  them  it  was 
evident  that  they  had  been  carefully  considered.  They 
were  found  in  every  corner  of  the  palace. 

The  stories  that  used  to  circulate  in  Constantinople 
about  the  Sultan's  precautions  against  sudden  attack 
were  confirmed  by  the  numerous  revolvers  (I  presume 
loaded,  but  that  was  a  detail  which  my  authority,  a 
person  not  given  to  the  use  of  revolvers,  did  not 
mention)  in  all  the  rooms  which  the  Sultan  frequented. 
There  was  a  revolver  on  the  right-hand  side  of  his 
bath,  and  one  on  the  left-hand  side. 


1 88  Tuesday,  May  4 

A  full  description  of  Yildiz  Kiosk,  omitting  nothing, 
would  be  a  highly  interesting  document.  I  state  only 
what  I  have  heard,  most  of  it  on  excellent  authority. 

According  to  newspaper  statements  there  were 
found  Djournals,  i.e.,  reports  by  spies,  of  all  periods 
down  to  the  reactionary  outbreak  of  i3th  April,  im- 
plicating various  well-known  persons  in  the  plot. 
Details  were  given  in  the  Constantinople  papers  from 
time  to  time,  as  the  trials  went  on  during  the  summer  ; 
but  I  was  not  interested  in  this  side  of  the  subject, 
and  did  not  read  the  reports  when  I  saw  any  news- 
papers. Moreover,  in  Asia  we  received  little  news 
from  the  outer  world,  seeing  no  English  papers  at  all, 
and  only  at  rare  intervals  some  Constantinopolitan 
French  journals.  For  the  most  part  we  were  out  of 
reach  of  the  post,  sending  a  special  messenger  a  long 
journey  about  once  a  week  to  fetch  bread 1  and  letters.] 

The  old  stories  about  the  Sultan  recur  to  one's 
memory  as  the  state  of  things  in  the  palace  is  dis- 
covered. No  one  doubted  the  essential  truth  in  them, 
except  a  few  apologists  and  champions  of  the  Sultan, 
especially  some  English  people  (among  whom,  all 
the  world  over,  you  always  find  the  most  vehement 
champions  of  the  most  diametrically  opposite  causes 
and  persons,  champions  often  perfectly  unselfish) ; 
and  yet  the  very  nature  of  the  tales  made  it  impossible 
ever  to  get  any  regular  proof  of  them.  They  were 

1  [The  unleavened  bread  of  the  villages,  which  looks  like  sheets 
of  brown  paper,  has  always  been  most  repugnant  to  me.  I  can 
starve,  but  I  cannot  assimilate  it.  Many  of  my  friends  and  com- 
panions in  travel  like  it,  and  find  that  it  suits  them  well.] 


State  of  Yildiz  Palace  189 

like  the  great  massacres  planned  for  23rd  April : 
demonstrative  proof  cannot  possibly  be  supplied,  yet 
no  one  doubts  that  they  were  planned  except  a  few 
who  rally  with  a  certain  chivalry  to  a  lost  cause, 
simply  because  it  is  lost.  Any  one  who  now  says  a 
word  in  favour  of  the  Sultan  may  be  confidently 
praised  as  absolutely  unselfish,  for  there  is  nothing  to 
gain  by  taking  his  part  and  much  to  lose ;  reputation 
for  sane  common  sense  can  hardly  be  retained  here 
by  one  who  is  so  Quixotic  and  altruistic  as  to  search 
among  the  ashes  for  some  way  of  defending  the 
fallen  tyrant,  or  palliating  his  guilt. 

So  also  those  old  stories  which  passed  from  mouth 
to  mouth  in  Constantinople,  and  were  printed  abroad, 
were  known  to  be  fundamentally  true,  because  they 
were  whispered  by  the  best-informed  authorities,  and 
they  tallied  with  the  character  of  the  Sultan's  whole 
career  and  with  one  another.  It  was  said,  for  ex- 
ample, that  no  one  ever  knew  in  what  room  he  would 
sleep  :  there  were  many  rooms  ready,  and  only  when 
he  had  actually  gone  to  rest  did  any  even  of  his  most 
confidential  attendants  know  the  place.  A  revolver 
was  always  ready  to  his  hand  ;  and  once,  when  his 
favourite  daughter,  a  little  girl,  came  and  suddenly 
wakened  him  by  a  caress  as  he  was  resting  on  a 
divan,  he  shot  her  before  he  recognised  who  she  was. 
He  was  thrown  into  a  panic  at  every  slight  noise  or 
sudden  movement  or  unexpected  sight  even  in  his 
own  well-protected  gardens  at  Yildiz.  He  shot  a 
gardener  who  moved  the  hand  to  salaam  as  the 
sovereign  passed  along  where  the  wretched  man  was 


i  go  Tuesday,  May  4 

at  work.  These  tales  and  others  we  heard  from 
excellent  authorities. 

Abd-ul-Hamid  has  a  fair  claim  to  rank  among  the 
greatest  destroyers  of  humankind  that  have  ever 
stained  the  pages  of  history.  It  is  believed  by  sane 
and  careful  observers  that  his  orders  have  been  re- 
sponsible for  the  death  of  half  a  million  of  men.  Add 
to  this  the  much  greater  numbers  who  have  suffered 
permanently  from  destitution,  torture,  mutilation, 
death  of  parents  and  other  relatives.  Take  into  the 
account  the  loss  of  property,  the  loss  of  honour,  the 
despair,  the  long-drawn-out  death.  Some  of  the 
great  Mongols,  like  Tamerlane,  were  guilty  of  the 
death  of  larger  numbers  of  men  ;  but,  in  the  total  sum 
of  suffering  produced,  Abd-ul-Hamid  can  probably 
vie  with  any  of  them.  Like  Tamerlane  he  reigned 
thirty-three  years.  In  one  thing  he  is  probably 
unique  among  the  great  assassins  of  history.  Not 
one  spark  of  any  grand  or  great  quality  illumined 
his  life,  or  ennobled  his  fall. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  I  should  go  at  3  P.M. 
to  the  Museum  to  meet  my  wife  and  daughter,  to- 
gether with  Miss  Dodd,  a  lecturer  at  the  College,  who 
were  to  come  over  to  the  scala  (pier)  below  the 
Museum  by  caique.  There  we  met  also  the  Hulme 
Scholar,  who  had  made  acquaintance  with  one  of  the 
chief  officials,  Makridi  Bey.  Both  Hamdy  Bey  and 
his  brother  Halil  Bey  were  absent,  but  Makridi  Bey 
showed  us  most  courteously  about  the  place,  and 
displayed  several  interesting  things  which  had  recently 
come  in,  including  two  Lydian  inscriptions  still  in 


Freedom  to  Travel  191 

their  packing-cases.  We  spent  a  long  time  at  the 
Museum ;  the  heat,  especially  in  the  unventilated 
rooms  upstairs,  was  overpowering ;  and  I  was  so 
tired  that  I  could  hardly  stand  upright  when  we  left. 
That  is  the  sort  of  thing  which  brings  on  fever ;  and 
I  am  not  likely  to  recover  fully  from  the  effects  of 
this  visit  to  the  Museum  for  many  days.  I  was  sorry 
for  the  others,  except  the  Hulme  Scholar,  who  is  too 
strong  to  feel  fatigue. 

I  then  drove  to  the  Sublime  Porte,  arranging  that 
we  should  all  meet  after  a  short  time  in  front  of 
the  building.  In  the  entrance  hall  I  asked  for  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  the  official  to  whom  I 
spoke  called  another  man  who  conducted  me  up- 
stairs and  along  sundry  corridors  to  a  small  room, 
in  which  a  Turk  was  sitting  at  a  table.  To  him  I 
explained  my  errand,  and  gave  my  card.  He  took  it 
into  an  inner  room,  and  returned  in  a  few  seconds, 
motioning  me  to  enter.  Quite  in  the  Turkish  fashion, 
he  did  not  utter  a  word  either  when  I  gave  him  my 
card,  or  when  he  returned  after  giving  it  to  the  Pasha. 
I  found  myself  in  a  larger  (but  not  very  large)  room, 
at  the  opposite  side  of  which  Ferid  was  sitting  at  a 
desk  dictating  to  a  secretary.  He  hardly  interrupted 
his  work,  except  to  say  in  French,  very  hurriedly, 
before  I  could  reach  the  divan  to  which  he  motioned 
me,  "  Monsieur  Ramsay,  you  shall  have  every  facility  ; 
and  if  you  have  any  difficulty,  you  have  only  to 
telegraph  to  me.  You  are  looking  much  better  than 
you  were  last  year.  You  remember  that  dinner  at 
Sir  Nicholas  O'Connor's,"  alluding  to  an  evening  at 


1 92  Tuesday,  May  4 

the  Embassy,  about  which  I  had  told  him,  when  I 
was  ill  and  unable  to  touch  any  food  except  a  glass 
of  hot  water.  "  My  compliments  to  Madame."  The 
interview  was  at  an  end,  and  everything  was  settled 
for  us ;  we  had  only  to  go  and  do  what  we  pleased  in 
Anatolia ;  every  official  there  would  help  us  in  every- 
thing. Ferid  Pasha  is  aware  that  it  is  perfectly  safe 
to  give  us  carte  blanche,  because  he  has  known  us 
for  eight  years  and  gauged  our  non-political  char- 
acter and  intentions. 

Before  retiring,  I  remembered  Mr.  Pears Js  message, 
and  offered  his  and  my  own  felicitations  on  the  Pasha's 
return  to  Stamboul.  He  said  :  "  Mr.  Pears  is  a  good 
man ;  he  knows  that  I  am  here  in  the  service  of  no 
political  party,  but  in  the  interests  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire.  Adieu,  Monsieur  Ramsay,"  and  held  out 
his  hand.  I  shook  hands  and  left  him  to  his  work. 
Within  five  minutes  from  the  time  I  had  entered 
the  Porte  I  was  walking  to  my  carriage  with  every- 
thing we  wanted  placed  freely  at  our  disposal.  Ferid 
understands  men — hence  he  knows  how  and  when  to 
give  and  to  refuse.  He  knows  how  much  and  how 
little  we  want,  and  gives  it  without  wasting  his  time 
or  ours  in  useless  routine. 

One  of  my  friends,  who  gave  me  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  the  Governor  (Vali)  of  Konia,  takes  a 
much  more  gloomy  view  of  matters  in  Anatolia  than 
I  do ;  he  declares  that  Anatolia  is  already  disjoined 
in  feeling  from  European  Turkey,  and  may  soon  be 
in  revolt  against  the  new  order.  I  feel  more  inclined 
to  agree  with  the  missionaries  in  the  country,  who  say 


A  Last   View  of  Constantinople  193 

that  the  Anatolian  Turks  will  accept  the  accomplished 
fact  as  the  Will  of  God. 

My  business  at  the  Porte  was  over  so  quickly  that 
I  had  to  wait  some  little  time  for  the  others,  and  we 
then  went  to  the  Suleimanieh  Mosque,  intending  to 
ascend  the  lofty  minaret  and  get  a  view  of  Constanti- 
nople. My  daughter  has  been  studying  the  topo- 
graphy of  the  city  and  of  the  Bosphorus  ;  and  a  wide 
view  like  this  is  necessary  to  co-ordinate  the  features 
of  the  city  into  a  mental  picture.  Often  as  I  have 
been  in  Constantinople,  I  have  always  been  too  busy 
and  have  never  found  time  to  go  up  to  any  point  com- 
manding such  a  view  of  the  city,  so  the  opportunity 
on  this  last  afternoon  of  our  stay  was  welcome. 

We  found  the  hodjas  in  the  Mosque  in  a  very  bad 
temper ;  they  evidently  are  discontented  with  the  new 
regime,  and,  although  they  could  not  forbid  us  to  see  the 
Mosque  (which  internally  is  one  of  the  most  delicately 
and  exquisitely  beautiful  buildings  I  have  ever  seen), 
yet  they  barred  us  from  the  minaret,  inventing  the 
excuse  that  the  keys  were  not  there  and  were  so  far 
away  that  they  could  not  be  brought.  One  youth, 
who  was  very  willing  to  admit  us,  was  overruled  by 
the  older  men,  who  scowled  at  us  as  we  surveyed  the 
Mosque  under  the  youth's  guidance,  but  carefully 
made  him  show  what  backsheesh  we  gave  him. 

Disappointed  here,  we  went  to  the  Ministry  of  War 
(Seraskerat),  saw  a  lot  of  soldiers  drilling  in  the  great 
open  space  in  which  it  stands,  and  toiled  up  the  long 
steep  stairs  of  the  lofty  Serasker  Tower,  which  affords 
one  of  the  most  extensive  views  over  Constantinople. 

13 


194  Tuesday,  May  4 


Then  back  to  Scutari  after  sunset  by  the  last  steamer. 
The  day  was  far  too  fatiguing  for  me,  especially  on 
account  of  the  stifling  heat  in  the  Museum. 

The  Hulme  Scholar  cannot  get  away  with  us  to- 
morrow, having  engagements  with  the  wounded 
Correspondents  and  others ;  but  will  follow  a  day  or 
two  later. 

It  is  announced  that  the  Sheikh -ul- 1  slam  is  going 
to  institute  an  examination  for  the  softas  (divinity 
students),  in  order  to  eliminate  the  worst  class  among 
them  ;  they  are  a  centre  of  disaffection  and  discontent ; 
but  the  prospect  of  an  examination  is  expected  to 
frighten  away  the  worst  and  most  ignorant  of  them. 
A  sound  knowledge  of  the  Koran  has  an  educative 
influence ;  and  few  who  know  the  book  well  can 
continue  to  be  thoroughly  unprincipled  and  false. 


XIII.— 


Scene  on  the  Sangarios :  photograph  from  railway  train  in  motion. 

XIV. 


Chained  Prisoners  under  guard  going  to  Adana. 


Seep.  253- 


III.  ASIA  MINOR  AFTER  THE 
REVOLUTION 

Wednesday,  May  5. — We  took  the  train  which 
leaves  Haidar  Pasha  at  6.50  A.M.  The  line  skirts 
the  Sea  of  Marmora  and  the  long  picturesque  Gulf  of 
Ismid  for  about  five  hours,  then  ascends  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  to  the  lake  of  Sabandja,  and  thereafter 
enters  the  valley  of  the  Sangarios.  After  some  hours 
it  turns  up  the  narrow  gorge  of  the  Black  Water 
(Kara  Su),  reaches  the  summit  of  the  mountain  rim 
which  bounds  the  central  plateau  of  Anatolia,  and 
descends  to  the  ancient  city  of  Dorylaion  (Eski 
Sheher).  The  journey  offers  a  continuous  series  of 
beautiful  views,  of  the  most  varied  kind,  sea,  lake, 
river  and  mountains ;  but  the  last  hour  is  spent  in 
darkness,  and  fourteen  hours  of  it,  preceded  by  the 
troublesome  business  of  starting,  make  a  fatiguing 
day.  The  train  stops  long  at  many  stations,  and 
twenty  minutes  at  Ismid  about  noon,  where  a  fair 
lunch  is  provided  at  a  Greek  restaurant. 

In  the  train  there  were  200  disbanded  soldiers 
going  back  to  their  homes :  some  wore  uniforms 
of  a  sort,  some  plain  peasants'  dress ;  none  carried 
arms,  but  all  carried  bundles,  big  or  little.  We 
did  not  learn  whether  they  were  disbanded  in  regu- 
lar course  at  the  end  of  their  term  of  service,  or 


196  Wednesday,  May  5 

dismissed  as  a  measure  of  precaution  by  the  new 
regime ;  but  the  latter  appeared  more  probable.  All 
seemed  quietly  happy  at  the  prospect  of  returning 
home.  There  was  nothing  resembling  the  gay  and 
high  spirits  that  we  had  observed  in  the  soldiers  of 
Liberty  on  the  way  to  Constantinople ;  but  the  Ana- 
tolian Turks  are  a  staid  and  grave  people,  who  take 
their  pleasure  without  exhilaration.  There  was 
equally  little  sign  of  discontent  among  them.  At 
almost  every  station  a  few  left  the  train ;  often  their 
friends  were  there  to  welcome  and  embrace  them.  The 
Turkish  embrace  seems  like  a  process  of  kissing  on 
the  two  cheeks ;  but,  if  you  observe  closely,  you  see 
that  no  kiss  is  actually  interchanged ;  the  embracing 
pair  throw  their  arms  around  each  other,  and  each 
looks  over  first  the  one  shoulder,  then  the  other 
shoulder,  of  his  partner,  without  bringing  the  heads 
into  contact. 

Several  military  officers  travelled  with  us,  also  two 
hodjas,  who  looked  distinctly  sour  and  ill-tempered. 
Everybody  else  at  all  the  stations  and  in  the  train 
seemed  to  be  in  excellent  spirits.  There  was  less 
police  surveillance  than  usual  when  we  arrived  at 
Eski  Sheher,  where  the  train  stops  for  the  night,  but 
names  were  taken  down  and  travelling  orders  exam- 
ined. I  presented  my  old  Irade  of  1908 ;  and  as  this 
was  unusual  and  long,  the  officer  said  he  would  send 
it  to  my  hotel.  I  said  that  we  were  leaving  for 
Konia  by  the  morning  train,  and  he  promised  to 
return  it  as  soon  as  the  incoming  passengers  had  gone 
away. 


XV.— P.  196. 


Disbanded  Soldiers  sent  back  from  Constantinople  to  their  villages  in 

Asia  Minor. 


In  the   Train  to  Iconium  197 

Thursday,  May  6. — After  spending  the  night  in 
our  usual  rooms  at  the  Hotel  Tadia  (where  we  always 
prefer  the  humble  but  quiet  garden  house),  we  started 
at  5.20  A.M.  by  train  for  Konia.  The  fifteen  hours' 
journey  is  rather  tiring.  It  is  not  nearly  so  pictur- 
esque as  that  of  yesterday,  but  is  in  many  ways  even 
more  full  of  interest,  as  the  train  first  winds  about 
through  the  Phrygian  hills,  and  then  enters  on  the 
long  plain  of  Phrygia  Paroreios.  At  Afion  Kara 
Hissar  (Opium  Black  Castle),  with  its  bold  volcanic 
rocks,  a  singularly  uninviting  lunch  can  be  had  in 
a  Greek  restaurant.  Thereafter  for  two  hours  we 
steamed  slowly  along  the  valley,  with  the  snow-clad 
Sultan  Mountain  on  the  right  hand  and  the  humbler 
Emir  Mountain  on  the  left,  past  several  lakes,  until 
after  sunset  we  had  to  surmount  with  great  difficulty 
the  bald  and  bleak  ridge  of  Boz  Dagh,1  and  at  8.50, 
half  an  hour  late,  we  reached  the  station  of  Iconium 
(Konia),  and  gladly  found  rest  in  the  Railway  Hotel, 
with  decently  clean  rooms,  a  good  bath,  and  very 
poor  food. 

From  Kara  Hissar  two  officers  of  the  Salonica 
army  came  along  with  us  to  Konia,  where  they  are  to 
arrange  things  to  suit  the  new  regime  and  keep  a 
watchful  eye  and  a  tight  hand  on  the  provincial 
government.  They  had  been  looking  after  affairs  in 
Kara  Hissar  for  some  days.  The  Young  Turks 
showed  much  forethought  in  their  plans  for  Asia 

1  The  German  engineers  missed,  or  intentionally  neglected,  what 
is  by  far  the  easiest  pass  across  the  mountain,  though  it  makes  the 
distance  a  little  longer. 


198  Thursday,  May  6 

Minor,  even  before  they  captured  Constantinople. 
They  sent  several  officers  with  troops  to  Smyrna  by 
steamer,  and  thence  to  Kara  Hissar  and  Eski  Sheher 
by  rail,  to  prevent  the  assembling  of  troops  in  Ana- 
tolia to  aid  the  Sultan.  In  Konia  a  Greek  tells  me 
that  telegrams  came  asking  for  volunteers  for  the 
Army  of  Liberty,  and  that  he  offered  to  serve,  but 
that  the  request  for  volunteers  was  countermanded, 
as  no  more  were  needed.  I  regard  this  statement  as 
not  entirely  trustworthy. 

The  two  hodjas  came  with  us  all  the  way  to  Konia. 
They  and  others  got  out  at  Meidan,  the  second  station 
before  Konia,  high  on  Boz  Dagh,  about  sunset,  to 
pray.  This  is  a  regular  experience  in  train  travelling 
in  Anatolia,  but  I  have  not  seen  it  in  European 
Turkey.  There  was  not  at  Meidan  sufficient  time  to 
pray,  and  the  conductor  had  to  interrupt  them  with  the 
warning  cry  "  Haide",  Yoljiler,"1  "  Look  sharp,  travel- 
lers," when  they  bundled  up  their  strips  of  carpet  and 
their  other  apparatus,  and  made  undignified  haste  to 
get  into  the  train  as  it  was  starting.  It  is  a  quaint  sight 
to  see  a  lot  of  them  making  their  prostrations  along 
the  station  platform.  From  want  of  time  and  of 
convenience,  they  sometimes  have  to  omit  the  ablu- 
tions at  such  a  moment,  but  often  the  station  well  is 
surrounded  by  persons  hastily  washing. 

I  take  from  my  daughter's  diary  a  description  of 
the  prostration,  which  is  five  times  repeated ;  the 
motions  are  as  follows : — 

1  Yol,  a  road ;  Yolji,  man  of  the  road,  voyager ;  Yoljiler,  the 
plural. 


bJO 

"S 
OJ 

W 

cS 

<u 
£ 
^j 


c 

oi 

I 


Moslem  Form  of  Prayer  199 

(a)  The  hands  are  placed  open  on  each  side  of  the 
head. 

(b)  The  hands  are  crossed  on  the  breast. 

(c)  The  hands  are  placed  on  the  knees,  standing. 

(d)  The  worshipper  kneels  down,  hands  in  position 

(4  ' 

(e)  He  bends  forward,  touches  the  ground  with  his 
forehead,  resting  his  hands  on  the  ground  on  each 
side. 

(/)  He  returns  to  position  (d). 

(g)  He  returns  to  position  (c). 

(ft)  He  returns  to  position  (d). 

(z)  He  returns  to  position  (6). 

Then  the  worshipper  repeats  the  whole  series  of 
motions,  until,  in  the  fifth  prostration  at  position  (^), 
before  rising  to  position  (£),  he  turns  the  palms  up- 
wards, with  arms  bent  at  the  elbows,  and  then  rubs 
them  down  his  face  as  if  he  had  caught  the  rain  from 
heaven  and  was  washing  his  face  with  the  water. 
Words  are  repeated  in  position  (b\ 

The  whole  process  forms  an  admirable  gymnastic 
exercise,  and,  when  preceded  by  the  washing  (which 
is  a  real,  not  a  sham,  ceremony),  is  an  excellent  health- 
giving  custom. 

We  had  very  few  passengers  in  the  train  to  Konia, 
whereas  the  return  train  from  Konia  to  Eski  Sheher 
(which  crossed  ours,  as  usual,  at  Tchai)  was  crowded. 
In  the  station  at  Konia  we  were  welcomed  by  the 
station-master,  a  tall  Armenian,  whose  first  words 
were :  "  What  do  you  mean  by  coming  in  the  midst 
of  all  these  troubles  ?  "  He  reported,  however,  that  in 


2OO  Friday,  May  7 


the  Konia  district  things  were  now  tranquil.  French 
is  the  official  language  on  the  German  Anatolian  Rail- 
way, and  employees  have  to  pass  a  stiff  test  in  French 
before  they  can  be  advanced  to  the  rank  of  station- 
master. 

The  corridor  carriages  introduced  on  the  German 
line  in  1908  make  travelling  far  less  uncomfortable 
than  it  was  formerly,  but  the  afternoon  was  very  hot. 
The  country  is  parched,  and  rain  is  sorely  needed  for 
the  crops.  Continuance  of  the  drought  that  has  pre- 
vailed for  a  time  on  the  central  plateau  of  Anatolia 
would  be  a  serious  misfortune  for  the  country,  all  the 
more  so  as  1907  and  1908  have  been  years  of  scarcity, 
approximating  to  famine.  Poverty  is  on  the  increase, 
and  dearth  is  close  at  hand.  A  ruined  harvest  would 
add  greatly  to  the  difficulties  with  which  the  Young 
Turks  have  to  contend. 

Friday,  May  7. — We  set  about  preparations  for  an 
expedition,  as  we  now  leave  the  railway  and  take  to 
horses  and  waggons.  I  called  on  the  Minister  of 
Public  Instruction,  who  is  an  old  friend,  rather  pious 
in  his  ways  and  reactionary  in  his  sentiments,  but  far 
too  timid  ever  to  cause  trouble  to  his  superiors.  As 
this  is  Friday  no  officials  go  to  the  Government 
offices  ;  but,  if  one  is  acquainted  with  them,  one  may 
call  at  their  houses.  The  Minister  volunteered  his 
company  when  I  go  to  call  on  the  Governor  of  the 
Province,  which  I  must  do  to-morrow.  This  is  on 
the  whole  advantageous,  since  the  Minister  entertains 
a  profound  respect  for  one  whom  he  believes  to  be  a 
friend  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior.  People  are 


The  Plan  of  Massacre  201 

much  reassured  by  the  advent  of  Ferid  to  power,  as 
he  governed  Konia  for  several  years  before  he  became 
Grand  Vizier  in  1903,  and  his  administration  was  able, 
and  left  a  deep  impression  on  the  memory  of  the 
population. 

In  the  evening  we  learned  that  the  Salonica  officers 
had  addressed  a  great  crowd  in  front  of  the  Govern- 
ment house  (Konak),  urging  them  to  live  as  brothers 
with  all  their  fellow- subjects  of  all  religions.  I  wish 
we  had  known  in  time  to  see  the  scene.  The  Rail- 
way Hotel  is  far  from  the  city,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
learn  what  is  going  on  until  too  late. 

It  appears  that  after  the  Mutiny  of  the  1 3th  April, 
when  the  Reactionary  party  was  in  power  at  Con- 
stantinople, three  hodjas  arrived  at  Konia,  and 
preached  in  the  mosques,  urging  the  people  to  make 
a  holy  war  and  to  kill  the  Christians.  Panic  prevailed 
during  several  days.  The  Governor  shut  himself  up 
in  his  house  for  six  days,  pleading  illness  as  an  excuse 
for  not  coming  to  business,  and  allowed  things  to 
drift.  Hundreds  of  Armenian  refugees  gathered  in 
the  house  and  grounds  of  the  British  Consulate.  The 
Consul  resides  at  Mersina  in  the  winter  and  spring, 
and  comes  to  Konia  only  for  the  summer ;  but  the 
Dragoman,  a  young  Armenian,  was  instructed  by 
telegraph  to  receive  every  refugee.  A  number  of 
people  tell  the  same  story,  people  of  all  classes  and 
religions.  They  differ  only  as  to  the  reason  why  the 
agitation  failed.  Some  (especially  Armenians  and 
Greeks)  declare  that  the  population  of  Konia  would 
not  rise,  and  actually  arrested  one  of  the  hodjas,  when 


2O2  Friday,  May  7 


he  was  preaching  massacre  at  the  door  of  a  mosque ; 
and  they  maintain  that  no  one  could  have  saved  them, 
if  the  people  had  been  willing  to  listen  to  the  exhorta- 
tions of  the  emissaries.  Others  say  that  one  of  the 
officers,  an  Albanian  named  Murad  Bey,  a  poet  and 
soldier,  who  had  been  an  exile  of  Abd-ul-Hamid's 
time,  calmed  the  excitement  and  averted  a  catastrophe, 
and  that  he  was  actively  aided  by  the  Tchelebi 
Effendi,  the  head  of  the  Turning  Dervishes,  one  of 
the  most  highly  respected  personages  in  Turkey, 
whose  family  has  always  been  noted  for  liberality  of 
mind  and  broad  views.  The  old  custom  was  that 
every  Ottoman  Sultan  was  invested  with  authority  by 
the  Tchelebi  Effendi,  who  girt  on  them  the  sword  of 
Osman  : *  this  ceremony,  which  had  fallen  into  disuse, 
is  to  be  revived  for  the  new  Sultan,  and  the  Tchelebi 
has  gone  to  Constantinople  for  the  purpose. 

Probably  the  truth  is  that  all  these  causes  combined 
to  produce  the  result.  It  is  quite  true  that  friendly 
feeling  has  reigned  always  in  Konia  between  Turks 
and  Christians.  But  it  is  also  true  that  Murad  and 
the  Tchelebi  were  active  in  using  their  eloquence  and 
influence. 

We  hear  similar  accounts  from  other  places.  In 
Kaisari  the  attempt  to  start  riot  and  massacre  was 
frustrated  by  the  decided  and  energetic  action  of  the 
Mutessarif  (Governor  of  a  division  of  a  Province). 
In  various  other  towns  on  this  side  of  the  Taurus 
mountains  order  was  maintained  with  more  or  less 
difficulty.  But  that  an  organised  scheme  of  massacre 

.  154. 


The  Plan  of  Massacre  203 

had  been  planned  at  some  centre  and  systematically 
preached  by  agents,  who  either  had  or  pretended  to 
have  a  religious  character  as  hodjas  and  dressed 
accordingly,  is  beyond  dispute  or  question.  My  few 
friends  in  Constantinople  who  disbelieved  the  reports 
that  arrived  there  about  this  organised  attempt  at  a 
general  massacre  would  be  convinced  that  those 
reports  were  true,  if  they  came  up  here  and  heard 
the  evidence.  Every  one  we  meet,  Turk,  Greek  or 
Armenian,  knows  and  tells  how  critical  the  situation 
was.  The  simultaneousness  of  the  preaching,  and 
the  similarity  of  the  circumstances,  demonstrate  that  a 
single  plan  was  carried  out  in  many  places ;  and  it 
cannot  either  be  doubted  or  proved  that  the  centre 
whence  the  plan  originated  was  the  Palace  of  Yildiz. 
Where  else  could  it  be  planned,  and  who  would  be 
so  foolish  as  to  leave  evidence  of  the  plan  ?  Whether 
it  was  with  or  without  the  cognisance  of  the  old  Sultan 
no  proof  can  be  discovered.  This  point  was  discussed 
in  the  diary  some  days  ago. 

The  intention  of  this  diabolical  plan  is  evident. 
The  Young  Turks  rely  on  the  support  of  the 
Christians  ;  they  preach  fraternity,  and  denounce  mas- 
sacre ;  their  ideal  is  to  bring  about  unity  of  all  races 
and  religions  in  a  well-governed  Ottoman  Empire. 
Whether  this  noble  ideal  can  be  realised  is  not  here 
the  question ;  that  the  object  of  the  Young  Turks  is 
to  try  to  realise  it,  is  admitted  by  every  one.  The 
plan  which  originated  from  Yildiz  was  designed  to 
make  this  ideal  impossible  by  provoking  ill-feeling 
between  the  religions,  and  interposing  a  river  of  blood- 

— *j 


2O4  Friday,  May  7 


r 


shed  between  the  races  of  the  Empire.  Had  the 
plan  been  carried  out  successfully,  it  would  have  de- 
monstrated that  the  Young  Turk  ideal  was  an  empty 
dream,  that  the  party  of  Progress  was  not  strong 
enough  to  establish  its  authority  over  the  Empire,  and 
that  the  old  despotism  was  at  present  the  only  form 
of  government  that  could  preserve  peace.  But,  since 
the  plan  has  failed  so  completely  on  this  side  of  the 
Taurus,  surely  the  opposite  inference  becomes  more 
probable :  it  is  the  system  of  despotism  and  massacre 
that  has  failed ;  in  Anatolia  the  people  or  the  au- 
thorities or  both,  who  passively  acquiesced  in  it,  have 
now  refused  to  maintain  it,  and  it  has  come  to  an  end. 
The  Young  Turks  will  get  a  trial.  It  remains  for 
them  to  demonstrate  that  they  can  use  their  oppor- 
tunity. 

There  is  no  such  unbridgeable  opposition  between 
Anatolia  and  European  Turkey  as  some  of  our 
friends  in  Constantinople  imagined.  The  question 
about  which  we  were  in  search  of  information  has 
answered  itself  within  twenty-four  hours  after  we 
reached  Konia,  which  is  in  some  ways  the  heart  of 
Anatolia.  There  are  no  Young  Turks  except 
strangers  here.  That  is  quite  true.  But  there  is  no 
inevitable  hostility  to  the  Young  Turks.  Konia 
simply  waits  and  expects.  A  few  Young  Turks 
from  Europe  rule  it  at  present.  The  officials  obey 
them  unhesitatingly  and  without  reluctance ;  they 
would  obey  Abd-ul-Hamid  with  the  same  perfect 
submission.  They  are  made  to  be  led,  not  to 
lead. 


The  Massacre  in  Adana  205 

Beyond  the  Taurus  to  the  south-east  in  Cilicia,1  at 
Adana  and  at  Tarsus,  things  have  turned  out  very 
differently.  When  you  pass  the  Cilician  Gates  you 
get  more  really  into  the  East;  you  cross  Taurus 
and  enter  Asia  proper.  Here  in  Konia  we  are  in  the 
debatable  land,  which  always  is  a  prize  to  be  fought 
for  between  Europe  and  Asia.  We  are  in  Asia 
Minor,  not  in  Asia  proper. 

At  Adana  there  has  been  a  terrible  massacre.  It 
began  earlier  than  the  plan  of  massacre  here,  and  was 
independent  of  the  effort  made  by  the  Reactionaries 
in  Anatolia.  The  latter  proceeded  from  the  gang 
who  were  feebly  endeavouring  to  struggle  against 
the  Army  of  Liberty  as  it  gathered  in  front  of  Con- 
stantinople. The  Adana  massacre  broke  out  along 
with  the  military  Mutiny,  and,  in  so  far  as  it  may  have 
been  suggested  from  Constantinople,  the  orders  must 
have  been  sent  before  the  Mutiny  began.  It  was 
stated  by  a  Turk  in  very  high  position,  while  we  were 
in  Constantinople,  that  evidence  was  in  the  possession 
of  the  Young  Turks  proving  that  a  soldier  from  the 
Sultan's  personal  guard  had  gone  on  a  special  mission 
to  Adana  and  arrived  there  just  before  the  massacre 
began.  If  he  went  by  train,  the  shortest  possible 
time  for  the  journey  to  Adana,  with  great  fatigue  and 
exertion,  would  be  five  days ;  and  by  steamer  there 
are  only  rare  opportunities  of  reaching  Adana  a  little 
more  quickly.  Now  the  Adana  troubles  flared  up  on 
1 4th  April  simultaneously  throughout  many  villages 
as  well  as  in  the  capital  of  the  province,  so  that  any 

1  The  country  of  Cilicia  is  part  of  Caramania,  not  of  Anatolia. 


206  Friday,  May  7 


instigation  from  Constantinople  must  be  dated  near 
the  beginning  of  April. 

The  Governor  (Vali)  of  Adana,  Djevad  Bey, 
passed  through  Konia  on  his  way  to  Constantinople 
two  days  ago.  He  was  Vali  of  Konia  in  1907  and 
1908.  An  Armenian  official  to  whom  we  were 
speaking  to-day  had  gone  to  see  him  as  he  passed, 
and  told  us  that  he  was  in  a  state  of  such  terror  as  to 
be  unable  to  answer  when  spoken  to.  It  is  said  that 
the  Vali  will  have  to  stand  his  trial ;  and  it  is  fervently 
hoped  by  many  that  he  will  be  hanged.  His  defence  is 
said  to  be  that  he  simply  carried  out  the  orders  which 
he  received  from  Constantinople,  and  was  therefore 
not  responsible  for  anything  that  happened.1 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  outbreak  in 
Adana  was  preceded  by  quarrelling  between  Turks 
and  Armenians  ;  and  there  are  stories  of  one  or  more 
Turks  killed  in  the  quarrels.  Such  stories  are  easily 
got  up  to  palliate  the  excesses,  and  are  impossible  to 
test.  But  one  Armenian  here  says  that  those  in 
Adana  were  well  armed,  and  would  have  been  able  to 
defend  themselves,  if  their  quarter  of  the  city  had  not 
been  fired.  It  is  quite  certain  that  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  fighting  in  the  city  of  Adana  and  many  Turks 
were  killed.  One  Armenian  butcher,  being  accus- 
tomed to  use  a  weapon,  is  said  to  have  killed  six 
Turks  with  his  own  hand.2  Whether  all  this  was 

1  [He  was  not  tried  in  Constantinople,  but  in  July  was  still  going 
about  freely,  when  we  returned  homewards.] 

2  [Later  the  story,  which  reached  us  from  Adana,  was  that  the 
Judicial  Commission  sent  by  the  new  Government  condemned  to 


The  Massacre  in  Adana  207 

purely  in  self-defence,  or  whether  quarrels  began,  with 
faults  on  both  sides,  one  cannot  say  with  certainty ; 
but  the  Armenians  declare  that  one  of  their  own  race 
was  bribed  to  begin  a  quarrel  and  wound  a  Turk, 
as  an  excuse  for  the  Turks  to  attack  the  whole 
Armenian  population.  This  defence  looks  like  an 
admission  that  some  sort  of  quarrel  applied  the  spark 
which  started  the  conflagration. 

On  the  other  hand  the  massacres  began  simul- 
taneously in  the  villages,  where  the  Armenians  were 
unarmed  and  made  no  resistance,  and  where  there 
certainly  was  no  quarrel  to  provoke  the  riot.  The 
massacres  there  were  largely  the  work  of  Kurds.  In 
many  cases  they  did  not  waste  powder  on  the 
wretched  villagers  (Kurds  being  a  very  economical 
and  niggardly  race),  but  ordered  them  to  lie  down  in 
rows  on  their  faces,  and  went  along  the  rows  decapi- 
tating the  miserable  and  unresisting  people.  It  is  said 
that  not  a  single  Christian  house  is  left  standing  in  or 
near  Adana,  and  that  there  do  not  remain  enough  of 
people  to  gather  in  the  harvest  this  month.1 

death  nine  Turks  as  guilty  in  the  massacres.  The  Turkish  women 
rose  in  rebellion,  and  refused  to  put  up  with  this  treatment.  To 
appease  them  the  Commission  resolved  to  hang  also  six  Armenians ; 
and  the  problem  how  to  select  the  six  was  solved  by  choosing  six 
butchers.  I  cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  the  story.  My  in- 
formant mentioned  a  good  authority  for  it ;  but  I  have  it  only  at 
second-hand.] 

1  [The  Hulme  Scholar,  who  went  down  to  Adana  in  the  end  of 
June,  told  us  that  the  crops  were  still  standing  in  the  fields, 
sprouting  afresh  and  of  course  utterly  ruined.] 


208  Friday,  May  7 


The  helpless  acquiescence  of  the  peaceful  Armenian 
labourers  in  their  fate  seems  to  northern  people  almost 
incredible ;  yet  I  have  been  often  assured  that  similar 
conduct  was  a  striking  feature  of  the  older  massacres 
under  the  regime  of  Abd-ul-Hamid.  In  the  terrible 
slaughter,  when  the  Christian  porters  of  Constanti- 
nople were  exterminated  to  make  room  for  Moslem 
(Kurd)  porters,  and  many  other  Armenians  were 
killed  at  the  same  time  in  order  to  give  a  show  of 
impartiality  to  the  business,  a  score  of  poor  Armenians 
took  refuge  in  a  loft,  which  was  accessible  only  by  a 
trap-door  in  the  floor  and  a  tall  ladder.  One  Turkish 
soldier  went  up  the  ladder,  entered  through  the  narrow 
opening,  powerless  to  defend  himself  for  the  moment  if 
any  one  had  attacked  him,  and  killed  with  his  single 
weapon  the  whole  twenty,  none  of  whom  offered  the 
slightest  resistance.  In  the  streets  many  of  the 
victims  quietly  held  out  their  heads  in  a  convenient 
position  for  the  assailant  to  inflict  the  death-stroke. 
An  old  friend  described  the  whole  hideous  business 
in  a  few  words,  "  they  had  their  throats  cut  like  sheep  ". 
He  had  a  very  decided  dislike  to  Armenians ;  but  he 
was  so  horrified  at  the  massacre  that  he  forbade  his 
workmen  to  buy  any  of  the  loot  (which  was  sold 
cheap  in  the  bazaars  all  over  Anatolia)  on  pain  of 
instant  dismissal.  Some  of  the  ornamental  clothing 
was  offered  cheap  to  my  wife  in  Konia  by  a  Greek, 
who  declared  that  it  was  Turkish  dress  purchased  in 
Kaisari  ;  she  recognised  it  as  Armenian,  and  taxed 
him  with  his  crime  in  trying  to  make  money  from  the 
plunder  of  the  murdered  Christians  of  Kaisari.  He 


Story  of  the  Unwisdom  of  Criticism         209 

had  not  a  word  to  say  in  extenuation  of  his  conduct, 
but  hastily  fled  from  the  house. 

As  I  have  here  mentioned  this  friend,  who  is 
now  dead,  I  may  describe  the  consequences  that  fol- 
lowed his  action  and  words  of  indignation.  He  acted 
as  our  Vice-Consul  at  a  town  in  the  interior ;  and  the 
Governor,  who  was  a  very  patriotic  Turk,  though 
quite  free  from  any  complicity  in  the  massacres  and 
strongly  disapproving  of  them  as  a  matter  of  policy> 
took  mortal  offence  at  his  conduct.  Our  friend, 
certainly,  was  always  blunt  and  outspoken,  and  may 
have  used  injudiciously  strong  language  in  expressing 
his  horror  of  the  massacres.  The  Governor,  who 
was  a  man  of  great  influence,  made  his  life  a  burden 
to  him,  threw  every  difficulty  in  his  way,  treated  him 
with  studied  rudeness,  and  lost  no  opportunity  of 
vilifying  his  character,  accusing  him  of  dishonesty, 
cheating  and  theft.  Finally,  the  complaints  were  taken 
to  the  Embassy ;  and  as  the  Ambassador  was  very 
anxious  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  the  Turks,  the 
Vice-Consulate  was  given  up,  and  our  friend  lost  the 
standing  which  alone  made  it  possible  for  him  to 
maintain  the  unequal  combat.  I  had  known  him 
since  1882,  and  was  quite  certain  that  the  Pasha's 
charges  were  unfounded.  We  therefore  would  not 
abandon  our  friend,  whose  wife,  a  French  lady,  was  a 
great  friend  of  my  wife.  On  the  other  hand  the 
Governor  was  also  most  kind  and  friendly  to  us,  and 
did  a  great  deal  to  help  us  and  to  show  his  apprecia- 
tion of  our  studies.  Without  his  strong  and  constant 
support,  at  a  time  when  Great  Britain  was  most 

14 


2io  Saturday,  May  8 

unpopular  in  Turkish  official  circles  and  British  influ- 
ence at  the  lowest  ebb,  we  could  not  have  maintained 
our  position  in  the  Province,  and  should  have  had  to 
abandon  our  work.  Moreover,  we  were  profoundly 
grateful  to  the  Pasha,  whose  courtesy  towards  us  was 
exquisite;  and  my  wife  was  on  most  friendly  terms 
with  the  ladies  of  his  family,  who  were  quite  charming 
persons.  The  position  was  therefore  a  very  delicate 
one,  as  we  continued  to  pay  visits  frequently  in  both 
houses,  and  simply  ignored  the  tense  feeling  between 
them.  The  European  is  now  dead  after  years  of 
misfortune  and  disappointment,  and,  in  Kipling's 
words,  his  tomb  might  fittingly  be  engraved  "with 
the  epitaph  drear,  '  a  fool  lies  here,  who  tried  to  hustle 
the  East"'. 

It  required  a  great  deal  of  discretion  and  tact  for 
an  honest  man  to  maintain  the  position  of  a  Consul  in 
Turkey  during  those  times,  and  our  old  friend,  while 
absolutely  honest,  was  far  from  being  well  endowed 
with  tact  and  urbanity. 

Saturday,  May  8. — I  called  on  the  Vali  to-day,  and 
presented  the  letter  of  introduction  which  an  English 
friend  had  given  me.  He  did  not  open  it  while  I  was 
there,  but  talked  very  courteously,  showed  himself 
well  affected  to  our  work,  and  volunteered  to  give 
us  every  facility. 

The  Vali  speaks  no  French,  only  Turkish.  It  is 
very  rare  nowadays  to  find  an  official  of  rank  who 
does  not  know  some  French.  Most  speak  French 
with  more  or  less  ease  and  fluency.  There  is  a 
wonderful  change  in  this  respect  since  we  first  came 


Growth  of  Education  in  Turkey  211 

to  Asiatic  Turkey  in  1880.  Then  it  was  rare  to  find 
a  Government  official  who  spoke  any  language  except 
Turkish,  and  it  was  comparatively  rare  to  find  one 
who  could  read  and  write  even  Turkish  with  any  ease. 
Several  times  it  was  told  me  as  a  quite  remarkable 
and  extraordinary  fact  about  some  official,  that  "he 
can  read  any  paper  that  is  presented  to  him  ".  The 
great  majority  kept  an  Armenian  or  Greek  secretary 
who  read  aloud  every  paper,  and  pointed  out  where 
the  official  should  put  his  seal,  for  few  then  signed 
their  names.  Now  it  is  the  regular  practice  to  sign, 
and  not  to  use  the  seal. 

The  change  of  custom  implies  an  immense  advance 
in  education  among  the  Turks,  and  this  advance  in 
education  is  the  real  cause  of  the  Young  Turk  move- 
ment. The  old  Sultan  encouraged  the  spread  of 
Turkish  schools  all  over  the  country.  His  motive 
was  to  keep  the  education  in  Turkish  hands  and  to 
prevent  Turks  from  going  to  the  American  Mission 
schools  and  colleges ;  but  he  did  not  appreciate  what 
momentous  consequences  must  result  from  his  action. 

The  beginning  of  the  movement,  then,  lies  in  the 
mission  schools,  which  roused  Moslem  rivalry  and 
spread  Moslem  schools  all  over  Turkey.  Then  came 
newspapers  and  books ;  and  such  things  after  a  time 
proved  too  strong  for  the  Sultan. 

A  highly  important  part,  also,  was  played  by 
English  governesses  in  wealthy  and  noble  Turkish 
families.  They  instilled  into  their  pupils  ideas  and 
habits  which  were  incompatible  with  slavery  to  a 
despot.  Probably  French  governesses  may  also  have 


212  Saturday,  May  8 

produced  a  similar  effect ;  but  in  the  circles  in  which 
we  moved  little  or  nothing  was  heard  about  them  be- 
yond the  fact  of  their  existence. 

The  Vali,  who  was  all  smiles  and  graciousness,  said 
that  he  would  instruct  the  military  commandant  to 
give  us  an  escort  of  gendarmes  to  travel  with  us.  I 
said  we  wanted  them  on  Monday.  In  the  afternoon 
a  brawny,  hearty  Albanian  officer  called  at  the  hotel. 
He  said  that  he  came  on  behalf  of  the  commandant, 
conveying  his  compliments  and  his  apology  that 
pressure  of  business  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  call 
in  person,  and  asking  when  we  wanted  gendarmes 
and  how  many.  The  Albanian  was  in  great  spirits 
about  the  revolution,  and  very  proud  that  it  was  an 
Albanian  army  that  had  put  down  the  Sultan,  so  we 
told  him  about  our  experiences  in  company  with  the 
invading  army  on  the  railway,  and  showed  various 
photographs  of  the  military  trains  and  of  groups  of 
the  soldiers.  An  acquaintance  in  the  hotel  had 
photographs  of  the  mutineers  hanging  on  the  Bridge 
at  Galata,  and  he  brought  them  in,  to  the  special 
delight  of  the  Albanian.  We  told  him  how  the  boys 
from  Monastir  and  Kossova  had  all  said  on  the  march 
"Baba  Hamid  bitdi,"  "  Father  Hamid  is  done  for"; 
and  he  was  immensely  delighted  with  his  boys.  But 
there  is  the  most  complete  difference  in  opinion  between 
such  a  man  and  the  native  Anatolians.  The  latter 
usually  are  indifferent  through  utter  ignorance ;  some, 
whose  interests  lay  in  the  maintenance  of  the  old 
system,  and  others,  whose  religious  feelings  are 
offended,  are  manifestly  not  easy  in  mind,  but  they 


The  Young  Turks  in  Konia  213 

do  not  say  anything  openly,  and  merely  show  a  desire 
to  change  the  subject  hastily,  when  the  new  system  is 
touched  on  even  in  the  most  remote  way. 

The  Salonica  officers  again  addressed  the  populace 
to-day  in  terms  similar  to  the  speech  of  yesterday. 
The  Young  Turks  are  undoubtedly  showing  extra- 
ordinary activity  and  are  doing  their  best  to  hold  the 
country  together,  and  to  prevent  that  severance  be- 
tween European  and  Asiatic  Turkey  which  many 
dread  and  some  regard  as  an  almost  accomplished  fact. 
Personally,  I  do  not  think  that  the  Anatolian  Turks 
will  do  anything.  They  will  accept  accomplished 
facts  as  the  will  of  God,  though  they  might  readily 
have  been  roused  to  the  support  of  the  old  Sultan,  if 
he  had  fought,  instead  of  plotting  massacres  and 
keeping  his  soldiers  close  round  his  own  person. 

The  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in  bargaining  for 
horses,  purchasing  various  articles  for  the  camp,  getting 
out  the  tents  and  other  baggage  which  have  been 
stored  at  the  Consulate  since  last  year,  and  seeing 
that  everything  was  in  good  order  to  start  on  Monday. 

A  delightful  little  example  of  the  total  inability  of 
an  Armenian  to  understand  the  Anglo-Saxon  nature 
occurred  while  we  were  thus  engaged.  The  drago- 
man of  the  Consulate,  an  Armenian  of  quite  excep- 
tional activity,  well  educated  (but  not  at  an  American 
College),  speaking  fluent  French,  remarked  about  the 
abject  cowardice  of  the  old  Sultan  pleading  for  his  life, 
and  said,  "An  Englishman  would  have  committed 
suicide  ".  That  is  the  Armenian  view !  An  English- 
man would  have  fought  until  he  died  or  was  success- 


214  Sunday,  May  9 


ful ;  and,  if  the  Sultan  had  had  any  "stomach  for  the 
fight,"  there  were  stronger  forces  on  his  side  than 
his  opponents  had  at  their  command. 

The  Hulme  Scholar  arrived  this  evening.  In  the 
present  state  of  uncertainty  throughout  the  country 
we  have  arranged  to  work  all  together  for  a  time, 
instead  of  carrying  out  our  original  intention  to  make 
separate  journeys  on  a  systematic  plan  and  thus 
examine  as  large  an  extent  of  country  as  possible. 
It  seems  advisable,  and  almost  necessary,  to  form  a 
large  and  strong  party,  so  as  to  produce  an  impression 
of  power  in  the  villages.  Disbanded  soldiers  and 
fugitives  from  the  Reactionary  army  may  be  a  source 
of  trouble.  Some  cases  of  robbery  and  murder  have 
occurred.  Until  we  see  how  things  are,  it  is  best  to 
be  prudent. 

Sunday,  May  9. — A  well-deserved  rest  was  very 
welcome.  We  have  had  a  hard  week,  and  all  three 
of  us  are  much  fatigued.  I  have  been  hardly  able  to 
get  through  the  last  few  days'  work. 

In  the  afternoon  an  Armenian  came  with  a  small 
statuette,  which  he  wished  to  sell.  He  had  the  idea 
that  it  was  a  portrait  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  was 
of  great  value.  If  I  had  offered  him  £100 
for  it  he  would  have  concluded  that  it  was  worth 
;£i,ooo,  and  would  have  taken  it  to  Smyrna  or 
Athens  to  sell.  I  told  him  the  facts  about  it,  viz., 
that  it  had  nothing  to  do  with  Alexander  the  Great, 
but  belonged  to  an  age  fully  600  years  later ;  that  it 
represented  a  Roman  soldier ;  that  it  was  extremely 
rude  and  ugly  village  work.  He  was  visibly  disap- 


The  "Lion'  of  Mithras  215 

pointed,  and  asked  me  to  take  it  for  ^50.  We 
laughed  at  him,  offered  two  dollars,  declined  to 
bargain,  and  sent  him  away.  Although  the  statuette 
is  extremely  ugly  and  devoid  of  the  faintest  artistic 
merit,  so  that  hardly  any  Museum  would  care  to 
possess  it,  a  real  historic  interest  attaches  to  it  and 
gives  it  some  value,  if  my  interpretation  of  it  is  correct.1 
I  wrote  forthwith  a  letter  to  the  Athenaum  (published 
on  i Qth  June,  p.  736  f.),  which  I  here  reproduce  with 
some  improvements  and  corrections.  The  interest  of 
this  little  statuette  lies  in  its  being  the  representation 
of  a  Roman  soldier  in  the  character  of  one  who  had 
been  initiated  into  the  religion  of  Mithras,  and  had 
risen  to  the  rank  of  a  Lion  in  the  ritual. 

"It  has  always  been  a  matter  of  surprise  that  so  little 
evidence  remains  of  the  worship  of  Mithras  in  Asia 
Minor,  considering  that  it  was  so  strong  in  the  West, 
and  especially  on  the  Danube  and  Rhine  frontiers 
among  the  soldiers  stationed  in  guard  along  those 
important  lines.  Yet  one  important  inscription,  which 
I  published  many  years  ago  in  the  Revue  des  Etudes 
Anciennes,  proves  that  the  ritual  was  familiar  to  the 
Phrygian  people  ;  and  some  slighter  pieces  of  evidence, 
for  example  a  Tarsian  coin-type,  point  to  the  same 
conclusion.  Also  it  is,  of  course,  evident  that  Asia 
Minor  was  the  intermediate  region  over  which  the 
Mithraic  religion  spread  to  the  West.  I  have  hitherto 
been  inclined  to  attribute  the  scantiness  of  Mithraic 

1  Professor  F.  Cumont,  the  chief  authority  on  the  subject,  to 
whom  I  sent  a  photograph,  accepts  my  interpretation  of  the 
statuette,  and  subsequent  study  shows  its  unique  interest. 


216  Sunday,  May  g 


traces  in  the  country  to  the  strength  of  Christianity. 
That  this  cause  did  operate  is  certain,  but  it  does  not 
form  a  sufficient  explanation.  The  army  was  the 
chief  seat  of  Mithraism  under  the  later  Roman  Empire, 
and  it  is  at  military  stations  that  most  of  the  traces  are 
found.  The  Mithraic  worship  was  fostered  in  the 
army  by  the  Emperors  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  in- 
fluence of  Christianity,  and  as  a  buttress  of  the 
thorough-going  loyalty  and  religious  patriotism  which 
they  wished  to  encourage.  If  that  was  the  case,  there 
is  no  apparent  reason  why  the  Eastern  legions  should 
be  free  from  Mithraism.  Although  Christianity  was 
much  stronger  among  them  than  in  the  Western 
armies,  still  it  is  hardly  doubtful  that  the  great 
majority  of  the  Eastern  soldiers  were  pagans.  The 
attempt  made  by  Galerius  to  purify  the  army  from 
Christians,  even  though  it  is  proved  by  the  recently 
discovered  epitaph  of  Bishop  Eugenius1  to  have  failed, 
is  at  least  a  proof  that  there  was  some  apparent  pos- 
sibility of  eliminating  the  Christian  element,  i.e.,  that 
that  element  was  in  a  minority  among  the  soldiers, 
even  in  the  East.  In  the  West  the  pagans  were  far 
more  numerous,  whereas  the  strength  of  the  Christians 
about  A.D.  300  lay  in  the  East,  and  especially  in  Asia 
Minor. 

"  Where  the  conflict  between  the  Christian  and  the 
pagan  element  was  keen,  there  one  would  expect  to 
find  that  the  rival  religion  to  Christianity  was  flaunted 
by  opponents  of  the  new  faith.  The  want  of  any 

1  Discovered  by  the  Hulme  Scholar  in  1908  (see  my  Luke  the 
Physician,  and  other  Studies  in  the  History  of  Religion,  p.  339). 


The  "Lion"  of  Mithras  217 

evidence  of  Mithraism  among  the  Eastern  armies, 
therefore,  is  probably  due  only  to  the  backward  state 
of  exploration  along  the  Euphrates  frontier.  The  only 
expedition  along  part  of  the  Euphrates  frontier  that 
has  been  made  with  definitely  archaeological  ends  in 
view  was  that  conducted  by  Mr.  D.  G.  Hogarth,  and 
he  would  be  the  last  to  think  that  any  single  journey 
of  exploration  would  exhaust  the  possibilities  of  dis- 
covery. The  evidence  about  the  stations  and  troops 
of  the  Euphrates  frontier  is  still  mainly  literary,  and 
literature  is  almost  as  silent  about  Mithraism  as  it  is 
about  Christianity.  When  the  archaeological  evidence 
is  collected,  the  hold  of  both  the  rival  religions  on  the 
Eastern  armies  may  be  illuminated. 

"  In  the  dearth  of  evidence  one  small  item  may  be 
mentioned  as  illustrating  what  is  to  be  expected  in 
the  future.  Recently  we  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing 
for  a  few  moments  a  small  statuette  of  Mithraic 
character.  The  owner,  who  thinks  it  is  a  portrait  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  cherishes  a  most  exaggerated 
opinion  of  its  value,  which  will  have  to  be  toned  down. 
But  for  the  present  it  is  impossible  to  deal  with  him  ; 
and  I  describe  the  statuette  here  in  order  that  it  may 
be  recognised  and  its  provenance  known,  when  it 
comes  into  the  European  market,  as  it  probably  will 
do  soon.  It  represents  a  Roman  soldier,  standing 
with  his  head  slightly  thrown  backwards,  so  that  the 
eyes  look  a  little  upwards.  The  work  is  rude,  but 
not  devoid  of  spirit.  The  soldier  has  an  air  of  pride 
and  exultation,  which  (if  intended  by  the  artist)  is  very 
successful  and  in  accordance  with  his  surroundings. 


218  Sunday,  May  9 


He  stretches  out  his  arms  to  the  two  sides,  and  lays 
his  right  hand  on  the  head  of  a  figure,  which  is  rising 
out  of  the  ground  (as  the  goddess  Gaia  is  represented 
in  Greek  art).  This  figure  wears  the  Phrygian  cap, 
and  is  therefore  the  young  Mithras  rising  out  of  the 
rock — a  common  subject  in  Mithraic  art.  But  the 
statuettes  of  this  type  which  have  been  found  in  the 
West  represent  Mithras  as  a  nude  boy,  and  the 
subject  is  called  '  The  Birth  of  Mithras '  ;  in  this 
Anatolian  representation  he  is  clothed  in  a  long  tunic 
girt  round  the  waist  and  having  a  broad  frill  round  the 
shoulders  just  below  the  neck.  The  tunic  spreads  out 
round  the  lower  part  of  the  figure,  which  seems  to 
emerge  from  the  rock  at  about  the  height  of  the 
knees  ;  and  this  arrangement  of  the  dress  made  me  at 
the  first  hasty  view  take  the  figure  as  female.1  The 
hands  are  crossed  over  the  lower  part  of  the  body. 

"  The  soldier  wears  a  helmet  with  a  high  crest  running 
down  the  middle ;  on  each  side  of  the  crest  are  two 
rows  of  bosses  ;  the  helmet  reaches  well  down  over 
the  back  of  the  neck,  but  leaves  the  face  entirely 
exposed.  He  has  a  moustache  curled  fiercely  upward 
at  both  ends  in  the  style  of  the  Kaiser  William  II., 
but  is  otherwise  clean  shaven.  He  is  dressed  in  a 
short  tunic  which  is  kilted  above  the  knees.  The 
frilled  edges  of  the  tunic  appear  on  the  shoulders,  but 
over  the  rest  of  his  body  it  is  hidden  by  a  cuirass. 
On  the  breast  of  the  cuirass  is  a  large  human  face, 
probably  intended  to  be  a  Gorgoneion,  underneath 

1  It  is  so  described  in  the  Athen&um. 


Roman  Soldier  with  rank  of  "  Lion  "  in  the  Ritual  of  Mithras. 


The  "Lion"  of  Mithras  219 

which  is  a  peculiar  figure,  difficult  to  interpret  with 
certainty.  At  the  first  hasty  view,  in  dim  light,  I 
took  it  for  a  scorpion,  or  some  peculiar  reptile  or 
shellfish  like  a  lobster,1  but  on  a  later  view  in  June  it 
was  seen  to  be  intended  for  a  female  figure  flying 
through  the  air  with  both  arms  raised  and  holding 
palm-branches,  while  the  bent  legs  and  feet  are  hardly 
human  in  shape,  but  more  like  two  tails.  Probably 
the  difficulty  of  interpretation  is  due  simply  to  the 
rudeness  of  the  artist's  work,  and  the  figure  is  a 
Victory  flying  through  the  air  and  carrying  palms. 

"The  two  emblems  on  the  cuirass  have  only  a 
military,  not  a  Mithraic  religious,  significance.  They 
are  decorations  (phalercz)  given  for  honourable  service 
in  war.  In  the  excavations  on  the  Roman  site  at 
Manchester  there  was  found  a  bronze  Gorgoneion, 
which  is  explained  by  Mr.  Phelps  as  a  phalera  that 
hung  on  the  centre  of  the  breast-plate  (Roman  Fort 
at  Manchester,  p.  151  f.). 

"  I  do  not  know  any  example  of  a  Victory  used  as  a 
phalera  ;  but  it  seems  quite  a  probable  kind  of  orna- 
ment. Presumably,  this  soldier  had  twice  received  a 
decoration  (donum  militare).  According  to  Mar- 
quardt  this  kind  of  phalera  ceased  to  be  used  about 
A.  D.  200 ;  and,  if  that  is  so,  the  statuette  must  be 
dated  earlier  than  I  supposed.  Perhaps  the  Victory 
was  a  pendant  to  the  Gorgoneion  (Phelps,  I.e.). 

"  The  lower  part  of  the  soldier's  tunic  is  indicated  in 
a  remarkable  way,  probably  due  largely  to  the  rude- 

1  It  is  so  described  in  the  Athewzum. 


220  Sunday \  May  9 


ness  of  the  art :  the  tunic  has  the  appearance  of  being 
arranged  in  three  flounces.  This  is  perhaps  an  at- 
tempt to  indicate  a  triple  row  of  metal  plaques  or 
bosses,  with  which  the  lower  part  of  the  tunic  was 
covered  either  as  ornaments  or  as  a  defence  against 
weapons.  In  the  National  Museum  in  Edinburgh 
Dr.  George  Macdonald  showed  me  a  set  of  round 
bronze  plaques,  which  he  believed  to  have  been 
employed  in  this  way  ;  they  were  found  in  the  recent 
excavations  at  the  Roman  Camp  near  Melrose  ;  and 
the  moment  that  he  explained  their  use,  I  recognised 
in  them  a  possible  explanation  of  the  Cappadocian 
artist's  purpose,  assuming  that  the  plaques  were  larger 
and  heavier. 

"  The  legs  are  bare.  The  feet  are  covered  with 
boots  which  reach  above  the  ankles  and  have  a  sort 
of  ruffle  at  the  top. 

"The  soldier  lays  his  left  hand  on  a  lion's  head 
(rudely  indicated,  but  proved  to  be  a  lion  by  the 
mane)  ;  this  head  is  supported  on  an  octagonal  column, 
short  and  thick,  resting  on  a  square  basis  and  having 
a  heavy  capital.  The  man  is  therefore  to  be  under- 
stood as  a  *  Lion '  in  the  mystic  initiation  of  Mithras  ; 
and  he  rests  his  two  hands  with  an  air  of  pride  on  the 
god  and  on  the  lion,  intimating  his  claim  to  this  rank 
in  the  ritual.  .The  figure  is  about  eleven  and  a  quarter 
inches  high,  and  the  heavy  basis  adds  about  one  and 
a  quarter  inches  to  the  height. 

"  The  proportions  of  the  figure  are  bad  ;  the  body  is 
too  slender,  and  the  upper  arms  and  shoulders  too 
massive.  The  material  is  a  fine  white  sparkling 


The  "Lion"  of  Mithras  221 

marble,  but  it  was  dulled  with  a  coating  of  the  fine  dust 
of  i, 600  years  when  we  first  saw  it. 

"We  had  only  a  brief  and  hurried  look  at  the 
statuette,  which  we  dared  not  study  carefully,  lest  our 
interest  in  it  should  double  the  owner's  estimate  of  its 
value.1  Hence  my  observation  of  details  was  defec- 
tive. As  things  have  turned  out,  it  might  have  been 
better  to  study  the  statuette  carefully,  and  swell  the 
owner's  estimate  of  its  value,  leaving  him  to  come  to 
terms  with  some  buyer.  He  counts  on  selling  it  to 
some  of  the  German  railway  officials,  or  some  of  the 
engineers  who  are  working  out  the  great  irrigation 
scheme  for  the  plain  of  Konia. 

"  The  statuette  is  said  to  have  been  brought  from  the 
Karadja  Dagh.  I  expect  this  means  that  it  was  found 
in  the  amateur  digging  which  (as  I  hear)  the  natives 
have  been  carrying  on  at  Emir-Ghazi,  since  we  directed 
their  attention  to  the  place  by  our  repeated  visits  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years.  I  learn  also  that  a  sarcophagus 
with  sculptures  of  the  Sidamaria  type,  though  smaller 
than  that  great  sarcophagus,  has  been  found  between 
Emir-Ghazi  and  Arissama  (the  ancient  Ardistama). 

"  Now,  there  remains  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  Emir- 
Ghazi  is  the  site  of  the  Byzantine  military  station  Kasis 
or  Kases,  which  formerly  I  wrongly  inclined  to  place 
farther  east  in  the  plain  of  Venasa  on  account  of  the 

1  [Two  months  later  we  saw  the  statuette  at  greater  leisure  in  a 
better  light,  when  the  owner's  opinion  of  its  value  had  diminished. 
The  Europeans  to  whom  he  tried  to  sell  it  had  been  disappointed 
by  its  inartistic  character  and  offended  at  the  price  which  he  wished 
to  charge.] 


222  Sunday,  May  9 


underground  dwellings,  which  are  a  feature  of  that 
plain  and  also  of  the  only  story  recorded  about  Kasis. 
They  are  also  found  at  Emir-Ghazi,  which  retains  the 
old  name,  modified  only  so  far  as  to  give  a  meaning  : 
Kasi  was  taken  as  the  Arabic  Ghazi,  conqueror.  Kasis 
was  a  Tourma  of  the  Cappadocian  Theme  until  about 
A.D.  890,  when  it  was  transferred  to  the  Kharsian 
Theme.  Emir-Ghazi  is  a  military  post  of  the  highest 
importance.  It  lies  in  a  narrow  plain  between  Karadja 
Dagh  on  the  south  and  Arissama  Dagh  on  the  north ; 
and  in  this  position  it  commands  many  lines  of  com- 
munication, while  above  it  rises  the  impregnable  castle 
of  Arissama.  The  statuette  suggests  that  it  was  prob- 
ably a  Roman  military  station. 

"The  natives  opened  a  number  of  graves  in  1908, 
and  found  only  Roman  pottery  and  glass,  the  date  of 
which  was  proved  conclusively  by  a  coin  of  the  period 
of  Constantine  which  we  extracted  from  one  of  the 
vases.  The  excavations  which  we  made  in  a  large 
tumulus,  on  the  other  hand,  revealed  only  hand-made 
pottery  which  Professor  Korte  of  Gottingen  dates  about 
the  seventh  century  B.C.,  while  the  Hittite  inscriptions 
also  attest  the  ancient  importance  of  Kasis.  Professor 
Sayce  read  in  them  the  title  of  the  King  of  the 
Kasimiya  or  people  of  Kasi,  which  further  confirms 
the  identification.  I  would  also  take  Ptolemy's 
Khasbia  in  Lycaonia  as  identical  with  the  old  name 
Kasimiya  (B  corresponding  to  M)." 

[I  may  add  that  in  the  following  month  we  had  the 
opportunity  of  testing  the  story  of  the  statuette  and 
the  inferences  drawn  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  about 


Young  Turk  Officers  at  the  Hotel         223 

it,  and  they  turned  out  to  be  in  the  main  correct, 
though  not  so  interesting  as  the  exact  facts,  which  are 
told  later  in  the  diary.] 

The  two  Salonica  officers  with  another  soldier  were 
in  the  hotel  this  afternoon,  and  were  entertained  by 
several  European  residents  with  two  bottles  of  cham- 
pagne. We  happened  to  enter  the  sitting-room 
immediately  after  they  had  left,  and  observed  that  one 
of  the  glasses  of  champagne  was  untouched,  and 
other  two  were  half  full.  We  had  no  doubt  that  these 
were  the  glasses  of  the  three  soldiers,  and  that  the 
Europeans  had  all  emptied  their  glasses. 

In  the  evening  the  Hulme  Scholar  suggested  that 
we  might  accompany  him  to  Laodiceia  on  the  mor- 
row, in  order  to  recopy  the  epitaph  of  Eugenius, 
bishop  of  that  city  from  about  A.D.  315  to  340,  and  to 
make  a  drawing  of  the  sarcophagus  on  which  it  is  en- 
graved. As  this  epitaph  is  one  of  the  most  important 
Christian  documents  that  have  ever  been  found  in  the 
original  writing,  we  resolved  to  do  so ;  but  my  wife, 
who  had  various  people  to  see  and  arrangements  to 
make,  preferred  to  stay  in  Konia. 

Monday,  May  10. — We  started  by  train  at  5.20 
A.M.  Our  friend  the  Director  of  the  Ottoman  Bank 
was  at  the  station  sending  off  his  son,  a  boy  about 
twelve  years  of  age,  to  school  at  Kadi-Keui  on  the 
Asiatic  side  of  the  Bosphorus  facing  Stamboul.  The 
boy  had  been  at  school  there  through  the  winter,  but 
when  the  Mutiny  broke  out  his  father  telegraphed  to 
send  him  home,  as  Konia  was  safer  than  Constanti- 
nople. "  Now,"  said  he,  "I  am  sending  him  back  to 


224  Monday,  May  10 

school,  because  Constantinople  is  safer  than  Konia." 
The  remark  was  typical  of  the  uneasy  feeling  that 
prevails  here,  though  on  the  surface  all  is  smooth  and 
tranquil.  The  train  was  full  of  passengers  going 
north  ;  the  trains  that  arrive  in  Konia  from  the  north 
are  almost  empty. 

We  had  a  very  interesting  companion  in  the  train,  a 
lady  who  was  on  her  way  to  Constantinople.  She  is 
the  niece  of  a  former  Turkish  Ambassador  to  a  Euro- 
pean court,  whose  name  has  been  familiar  to  me  from 
childhood.  She  had  been  brought  up  in  Europe,  and 
spoke  French  as  almost  her  mother-tongue.  She  was 
very  pretty,  with  a  certain  melancholy  expression  in 
her  eyes,  which  may  have  been  due  to  the  anxiety  that 
weighs  on  all  non-Turkish  residents  in  Anatolia  at  pre- 
sent, though  possibly  it  is  habitual.  Life  in  Konia  in 
recent  years  has  not  been  exhilarating  or  enjoyable 
for  any  well-educated  lady.  Society  is  for  the  most 
part  either  dull  or  vicious ;  and  those  who  are  out  of 
harmony  with  the  latter  side  have  had  nothing  to 
relieve  the  depression  that  accompanied  the  rule  of 
Abd-ul-Hamid. 

The  lady,  for  whose  company  I  was  probably  in- 
debted to  the  presence  of  my  daughter  and  to  the 
crowded  state  of  the  train,  talked  very  freely,  and 
evidently  felt  it  a  relief  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
speaking  her  mind  without  constraint  to  outsiders. 
She  spoke  more  like  a  European  giving  his  experience 
of  the  country  than  as  a  native.  About  the  Armen- 
ians she  did  not  express  any  opinion.  Of  the  Greeks 
she  said  quite  truly  that  their  best  characteristic  is 


XVIII.— P.  224. 


Bridge  and  Roman  Milestone  between  Lystra  and  Isaura. 

See  p.  277. 

XIX. 


Tue  Village  of  Dorla. 


See  p.  264. 


A  Ladys  Opinions  of  Turkey  225 

their  real  respect  for  education  and  their  correct  idea 
of  what  it  means,  but  that  they  were  often  traitors  to 
their  national  cause  for  their  own  private  advantage ; 
the  Greeks  of  Turkey,  however,  had  no  other  career 
except  in  the  Turkish  service,  and  a  Greek  had  always 
to  choose  between  abandoning  all  attempt  at  public 
life  and  serving  the  Turks  against  his  compatriots. 
She  ought  rather  to  have  said  "  co-religionists,"  for  it  is 
the  religion  of  the  Orthodox  Church,  and  not  country 
or  blood,  that  unites  the  Greeks  of  Turkey  to  those 
of  Greece. 

Of  the  future  of  the  Turks  she  had  no  hope.  She 
was  a  thorough-going  pessimist.  A  very  few  of  the 
Young  Turks  were  honestly  desirous  of  improving 
their  country  and  their  system  of  government ;  but 
circumstances  were  far  too  strong  for  them,  and  their 
efforts  were  doomed  to  failure.  Their  people  were 
barbarians,  quite  incapable  of  being  civilised ;  they 
were  soldiers,  and  could  never  be  anything  else.  It 
was  best  to  keep  them  in  their  natural  condition,  be- 
cause they  acquired  nothing  from  education,  except 
dishonesty.  They  were  all  false  and  treacherous  at 
heart ;  their  apparent  honesty  was  merely  the  result  of 
stupidity  ;  let  them  learn  anything,  and  they  learned 
only  to  cheat.  An  educated  Turk  was  not  capable  of 
keeping  his  word.  The  idea  that  it  was  right  to  be 
true  to  his  word  had  never  occurred  to  any  Turk,  and 
could  not  be  made  intelligible  to  him.  No  Turk  ever 
trusted  another,  or  expected  to  be  trusted  by  another. 
Falsehood,  bribery  and  corruption  were  ineradicable 
from  their  nature.  The  Greeks  were  false  because 

IS 


226  Monday,  May  10 

they  expected  to  gain  something  by  a  lie.  The  Turk 
was  false  because  it  had  never  entered  into  his  mind 
consciously  that  one  should  be  true.  He  was  true 
only  by  chance  and  ignorance. 

As  to  the  women  they  were  almost  all  ugly.  Their 
eyes,  indeed,  were  often  beautiful,  and  they  had  often 
fine  complexions,  because  they  never  exposed  them- 
selves to  the  sun.  The  veil  allowed  the  eyes  to  be 
seen,  and  gave  an  air  of  mystery ;  but  when  not 
wearing  the  veil  they  were  generally  discovered  to  be 
plain  and  soulless.  After  their  first  youth  they  were 
all  ugly ;  when  the  freshness  of  childhood  was  gone 
nothing  remained  to  them.  An  old  Turkish  woman 
was  a  horror.  [Such  statements  seem  too  sweeping. 
These  notes  give  perhaps  a  rather  one-sided  idea 
of  what  the  lady  said ;  but  in  reporting  a  conversa- 
tion that  was  chiefly  on  one  side  and  lasted  continu- 
ously for  two  and  a  half  hours,  one  remembers  only 
the  most  impressive  aspect  of  her  words.  My  wife 
disagrees  with  her,  and  declares  that  in  Constanti- 
nople and  several  other  places,  where  she  has  seen 
them,  the  Turkish  women  are  notable  for  their 
beauty,  even  those  of  the  poorer  class.  In  Konia, 
however,  she  allows  that  the  women,  whether  Turkish, 
Armenian,  or  Greek,  are  not  remarkable  for  their 
good  looks.] 

The  lady  described  in  most  unfavourable  terms  the 
habits  of  the  Turks  in  economic  life.  They  destroy 
everything,  trees,  the  productivity  of  the  soil,  the 
household,  etc.;  and  she  emphatically  declared  "la 
Turquie  n'a  pas  d'avenir".  Her  view  was  the  one 


A  Ladys  Opinions  of  Turkey  227 

that  prevailed  almost  universally  among  the  Turks 
when  we  first  came  out  to  Turkey  in  1880  and  for 
several  years  later,  though  now  one  rarely  hears  it. 
The  change  must  be  largely  credited  to  the  old  Sultan 
Abd-ul-Hamid  II.,  and  the  historian  of  his  reign 
should  never  forget  how  much  he  did  to  recreate  hope 
among  his  Moslem  subjects. 

The  Turks,  she  declared,  are  after  all  really  savages 
let  loose  from  Central  Asia  to  destroy  the  West,  like 
the  Huns  in  Europe ;  and  she  told  how  she  had 
herself  seen  a  Pasha,  whom  she  named,  and  whom  I 
had  heard  of  as  a  person  of  quite  respectable  character, 
beat  with  his  own  hand  a  young  slave  for  a  long  time, 
until  the  blood  flowed  freely  ;  and  the  slave  did  not 
dare  to  cry  out,  but  covered  his  mouth  to  stifle  the 
cries. 

She  considered  that  the  quietness  and  freedom  from 
bloodshed  in  Konia  had  been  due  largely  to  the 
Tchelebi  Effendi,  the  head  of  the  Dervishes,  and  to 
the  whole  body  of  the  dancing  Dervishes,  whose  tradi- 
tion is  liberal  and  who  differ  in  many  respects  from  the 
Moslems.  Her  account  agreed  with  what  we  had 
heard  from  other  witnesses,  but  she  added  that  the 
Tchelebi  had  made  a  speech  to  the  people  from  the 
steps  of  the  Government  House. 

She  attributed  the  waste  that  goes  on  in  Turkey  to 
the  pure  lust  for  destruction  which  characterises  the 
Turks.  One  should  rather  say  that  the  cause  lay  in 
ignorance  and  the  want  of  any  inherited  agricultural 
or  economic  system  ;  the  Turks  of  Anatolia  were  a 
nomad  people,  who  conquered  and  destroyed  a  more 


228  Monday,  May  10 

developed  system  and  reduced  an  agricultural  and 
manufacturing  and  commercial  people  in  large  degree 
to  the  nomadic  stage  ;  the  old  Anatolian  population, 
which  survived,  and  which  partly  became  Moslem 
and  Osmanli,  partly  remained  Christian,  lost  much  of 
the  old  tradition  amid  the  growing  deterioration  of 
conditions  and  the  decay  of  education. 

As  to  the  destruction  of  trees,  that  is  a  well-known 
fact.  The  nomads  burn  down  a  tree  to  get  a  single 
log ;  and  they  do  it  so  carelessly  that  in  the  dry 
season  a  forest  fire  has  often  been  caused  in  the  few 
parts  of  the  country  where  forests  still  exist.  I  have 
ridden  for  an  hour  through  a  forest  of  splendid  fir-trees, 
all  blackened  and  killed  by  a  recent  fire,  which  (as 
I  was  told)  originated  from  a  fire  lit  by  some  Yuruks 
in  this  way.  My  wife  saw  in  the  Kara-Dagh,  fifty 
miles  south-east  of  Konia,  a  man  go  and  cut  down  a 
pear-tree  with  young  pears  on  it,  because  he  wanted 
one  small  log. 

We  left  the  train  at  Serai,  and  had  then  to  hire  two 
native  waggons  and  drive  about  eight  kilometres  to 
Ladik  (the  old  Laodiceia).  The  Konia  station-master 
had  telegraphed  to  Serai  to  have  waggons  ready,  and 
two  were  there,  but  the  price  was  not  arranged. 
The  driver,  who  knew  we  must  either  take  his  waggons 
or  do  without,  demanded  a  sum  which  would  have 
hired  an  excellent  carriage  and  pair  for  the  day  in 
London.  I  named  my  price,  and  said  that  I  would 
not  give  one  piastre  more.  I  forget  what  the  sums 
were  exactly,  for  these  details  never  remain  five 
minutes  in  my  memory.  He  refused.  "Then  we 


Bargaining  for  Waggons  229 

will  go  on  foot,"  I  replied,  and  turned  to  the  road. 
As  he  would  lose  the  day  if  we  did  not  employ  him 
(in  fact  he  had  already  lost  the  best  part  of  it),  we 
now  had  the  whiphand  of  him ;  and  he  rushed  after 
us,  offering  to  meet  us  half-way.  I  made  my  usual 
reply  that  I  had  only  one  word  (i.e.,  never  changed 
from  what  I  had  once  said).  That  is  the  English 
reputation,  and  it  is  best  to  maintain  it,  even  though 
sometimes,  perhaps  often,  I  lose  a  chance  by  it,  where 
the  purchase  of  antiques  is  concerned.  He  capitulated 
at  once,  and  we  drove  to  Laodiceia  in  the  hardest  of 
springless  carts,  over  the  roughest  of  roads.  We  had 
forgotten  to  bring  any  coverings  or  cushions,  and  the 
drive  was  terrible.  I  may  explain  that  the  fare  which 
I  named  was  a  handsome  price  to  pay  in  Konia,  and 
liberal  at  a  country  place  where  there  was  no  trade, 
so  that  the  man  had  no  ground  for  dissatisfaction- 
The  Hulme  Scholar  remarked  that,  knowing  my  dis- 
like for  physical  fatigue,  he  had  been  astounded  to  see 
me  start  to  walk  to  Ladik.  I  had,  however,  never 
intended  to  walk,  for  the  exertion  on  a  very  hot 
day  would  have  assuredly  been  too  great  a  strain 
even  for  a  Hulme  Scholar.  But  it  was  necessary  to 
comply  with  the  customs  of  society,  and  give  the 
owner  an  excuse  to  abate  his  demand.  His  self- 
respect  and  his  standing  in  the  estimation  of  the 
onlookers  required  that  I  should  turn  my  back  and 
walk  away.  If  he  had  yielded  without  my  going 
through  the  proper  forms,  he  would  have  felt  that  I 
had  humiliated  him.  When  I  turned  my  back,  he 
felt  no  difficulty  in  yielding,  and  became  forthwith 


230  Tuesday,  May  n 


perfectly  friendly  and  helpful.     These   people  love 
bargaining  with  all  its  forms. 

It  is  always  best,  in  my  experience,  to  pay  more 
than  the  market  price  for  horses  and  waggons.  If 
you  pay  only  the  ordinary  rate,  the  man  knows  that 
he  can  get  easily  another  engagement  equally  good  ; 
if  you  pay  more,  he  cannot,  and  is  anxious  to  continue 
in  your  service. 

As  things  turned  out,  we  had  to  drive  five  kilometres 
beyond  Serai,  climb  a  hill,  spend  most  of  the  day 
walking  or  standing  about  in  the  heat,  exploring  and 
copying  inscriptions  and  making  drawings,  and  then 
drive  at  breakneck  speed  back  to  Serai  to  catch  the 
evening  train  to  Konia.  The  drive  in  the  hard  carts 
was  almost  unendurable  after  the  exploration  during 
the  day  ;  and  we  reached  Konia  near  9  P.M.,  firmly 
resolved  not  to  start  at  5.20  on  the  following  morning. 

Tuesday,  May  n. — We  star  ted,  at  last,  about  8.30 
A.M.  from  the  hotel,  but  had  to  wait  about  an  hour  in 
the  square  in  front  of  the  Government  House,  as 
through  some  mistake  the  gendarmes  were  not  ready. 
The  big  Albanian  officer  talked  to  us  for  a  time,  and 
made  very  handsome  apologies.  Our  destination, 
Dorla,  was  twelve  hours'  journey  away,  so  we  stopped 
at  a  village,  Tchumra,1  about  forty  kilometres  south  of 
Konia. 

Our  party  was  much  more  numerous  than  we  have 
ever  had  before  ;  but  the  advice  given  on  all  sides 
was  that  we  ought  not  to  travel  at  all  in  the  present 

1  Pronounce  u  like  oo  in  bloom. 


The  Expedition  231 


situation  of  affairs,  so  we  resolved  to  exercise  an  ex- 
ceptional amount  of  prudence  and  take  a  show  of 
armed  official  force.  Altogether  we  were  a  party  of 
twelve  men,  eight  horses  and  three  waggons.  At  the 
head  was  a  corporal  (On-bashi,  "  Head  over  ten"), 
who  was  very  pious,  prayed  at  every  halt,  and  yet 
showed  himself  energetic  and  useful,  stimulated  by 
the  hope  of  liberal  reward  proportionate  to  his 
services. 

The  men  whom  we  chiefly  relied  on  were  two,  a 
Turk  and  a  Greek,  who  have  been  with  us  every 
year  since  1901  and  know  all  we  want.  The  Greek 
is  the  son  of  a  professional  magician  in  Konia,  and 
possesses  much  of  the  adaptability  and  quickness  in 
picking  up  information  which  are  needed  for  a  magician. 
He  is  commonly  called  "Jinnji"  (man  of  the  Jinn, 
demoniac  beings).  Most  of  the  time  which  he  has 
not  spent  in  our  service  during  the  last  nine  years  has 
been  passed  in  prison,  as  he  is  always  on  bad  terms 
with  the  police  and  with  all  who  are  in  authority. 
Everybody  in  Konia  wonders  why  we  take  him  with 
us,  but  he  is  an  extremely  useful  servant  when  he 
is  away  from  the  city.  As  usual  he  was  waiting  at 
the  station  for  us  when  we  arrived,  although  I  had 
not  sent  word  what  day  we  should  arrive.  Under 
the  old  regime  he  had  to  wait  outside  the  station, 
since  no  one  except  officials,  police  and  persons  of 
distinction  or  Europeans  were  allowed  on  the  plat- 
form ;  but  under  the  Constitutional  government  he 
was  this  year  standing  on  the  platform  ready  to  open 
the  carriage  door  for  us.  He  was,  however,  I  regret 


232  Tuesday,  May  n 

to  say,  quite  drunk  and  able  only  with  difficulty  to 
walk  straight.  I  had  never  seen  him  in  that  condition 
before,  though  I  knew  that  he  drank  a  little  when 
we  were  away.  It  was  St.  George's  Day  when  we 
arrived ;  the  Greeks  are  wont  to  make  merry  on  the 
feast-day,  and  he  had  not  known  of  our  coming,  but 
was  conducted  by  some  evil  fate  to  meet  us.  He  had 
to  be  dismissed,  and  was  in  disgrace  for  several  days  ; 
but  at  last  I  induced  my  wife  to  permit  him  to  go 
with  us.  I  had  promised  him  a  present  for  his 
services  last  year,  and  we  sent  for  his  wife,  a  recent 
acquisition  of  his,  and  gave  her  the  money.  As  he 
never  earns  a  penny  except  from  us,  and  lives  during 
the  rest  of  the  year  on  the  earnings  of  his  mother  and 
his  wife  (who  make  carpets),  it  seemed  best  in  his  own 
interest  to  entrust  the  money  to  her.  When  we 
started  on  our  expedition  he  turned  up  in  magnificent 
garments,  made  in  the  Turkish  fashion,  voluminous 
scarlet  trousers  and  white  jacket ;  and  during  the 
journey  he  was  a  model  servant,  far  better  than  ever 
before,  and  simply  the  best  I  have  ever  known  in  the 
country.  He  lived  up  to  the  splendour  of  his  clothes 
and  the  dignity  of  the  Turks.  In  future  we  shall 
deal  with  his  wife  in  all  matters  of  money. 

[When  the  Hulme  Scholar  left  us  to  travel  on  his 
own  account  I  gave  him  the  Jinnji,  who  did  not 
behave  well,  and  was  in  a  state  of  semi-intoxication 
for  four  days  immediately  after.  There  was  a  sad 
reaction  after  the  exalted  level  of  virtue  on  which  he 
had  lived  with  us.  Moreover,  he  has  a  wholesome 
awe  of  my  wife  and  also  of  myself ;  he  was  present 


A  Greek  Servant  233 

in  1901  when  I  had  to  thrash  with  my  horsewhip  an 
insolent  keeper  of  a  locanda  in  a  village,  and  he  con- 
fided to  my  son  years  after  that  he  had  thought  I  was 
going  to  thrash  himself,  as  he  had  taken  us  to  the 
locanda,  of  which  the  keeper  was  a  compatriot.] 

Such  as  he  is,  with  all  his  many  faults,  I  feel  some 
respect  for  him.  He  has  never  fawned  on  the  police, 
but  has  resisted  them  and  shown  his  independence  of 
spirit  in  an  unwise  degree,  and  he  has  suffered  many 
beatings  at  their  hands.  Generally,  he  is  on  the 
worst  possible  terms  with  our  gendarmes ;  and  after 
we  have  gone  back  to  England  they  revenge  them- 
selves on  the  Jinnji  for  many  sneers  and  gibes,  which 
he,  in  spite  of  all  my  advice,  hurls  at  them  when  he 
is  under  our  protection.  He  is  clever,  energetic  in 
some  ways,  a  good  overseer  of  workmen,  and  some- 
times an  excellent  servant,  and  he  often  utters  a  true 
and  clever  saying  very  epigrammatically.  One  day, 
after  a  hard  contest  with  a  Greek,  from  whom  he 
wanted  to  buy  an  antique  for  me,  he  retired  beaten 
from  the  struggle,  and  remarked  with  a  sigh  :  "  We 
Christians  are  difficult  to  deal  with  ;  but  the  Turks 
are  easily  cheated  ".  He  has  no  sentimental  feeling 
for  the  truth  ;  he  will  tell  a  lie  at  any  moment,  and 
regards  it  as  a  smart  thing  to  cheat  anybody.  He  is 
quite  proud  of  having  cheated  a  resident  in  Konia, 
who  possesses  much  influence  and  high  character  and 
might  have  been  useful  to  the  Jinnji.  In  this  case, 
as  I  believe,  he  cheated  from  mere  bravado,  because 
most  people  would  have  been  afraid  to  do  it  in  a 
matter  which  must  quickly  be  'discovered.  Yet  he 


234  Tuesday,  May  n 

has  a  sense  of  honour,  which  can  be  appealed  to  ; 
and  he  feels  on  his  honour  to  do  nothing  in  our 
company  which  will  bring  discredit  on  us.  When 
one  considers  his  position  in  Konia,  comparatively 
educated,  proud,  conceited,  and  in  a  way  ambitious, 
trodden  under  the  heel  of  ignorant  police,  who  have 
often  beaten  him  brutally  out  of  mere  revenge,  one 
cannot  wonder  that  even  his  good  qualities  turn  to 
evil,  and  that  he  is  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  every  official, 
and  a  proverbial  mauvais  sujet,  for  whom  no  one  has 
a  good  word.  He  seems  to  be  about  twenty-seven 
years  old. 

One  story  must  be  told  about  the  Jinnji  and  the 
police,  as  it  illustrates  so  well  many  sides  of  life  in 
Turkey. 

In  June,  1902,  my  wife  and  I  were  staying  in  a 
Greek  locanda  in  Konia,  having  arrived  on  the 
previous  day  from  Tarsus,  and  intending  to  start  on 
another  journey  next  morning.  The  inn,  though  it 
is  in  the  principal  square,  vis-a-vis  to  the  Government 
House,  was  indescribably  filthy  and  malodorous.  A 
lady,  who  was  a  great  friend  of  my  wife's,  called  on 
us  about  6  P.M.,  and  felt  so  much  compassion  for  our 
hideous  situation,  that  she  carried  us  off  with  her  to 
dine  and  sleep  at  her  house.  The  Jinnji  was  in 
attendance,  and  as  he  was  about  to  mount  the  box- 
seat  of  the  carriage,  a  policeman  came  up  and  said  he 
was  wanted  at  the  police-office  in  the  Government 
House.  He  went  off,  saying  to  us  with  perfect 
confidence  that  he  would  be  back  in  a  short  time  to 
receive  our  final  instructions.  At  nine  o'clock,  as  we 


A  Story  of  the  Police  235 

were  sitting  at  dinner,  his  mother  rushed  into  the 
large  open  entrance  hall  where  we  were,  weeping, 
tearing  her  hair,  beating  her  breast,  and  shrieking  as 
if  she  were  demented.  The  police  had  informed  her 
that  her  son  was  to  be  exiled  on  the  morrow  to  Ak- 
Serai,  a  town  thirty  hours  distant  to  the  north-east, 
and  he  was  now  shut  up  in  jail.  She  implored  us 
to  help  her  and  save  her  son,  who  would  never 
return  alive  from  Ak-Serai.  After  some  considera- 
tion I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Governor,  explaining  the 
situation,  offering  to  guarantee  that  the  Jinnji  had 
done  no  wrong,  and  requesting  that  he  should  be 
allowed  to  go  with  us  next  day.  As  the  lady's 
husband,  who  was  absent  at  the  time,  was  on  the 
worst  possible  terms  with  the  Governor,  it  would  not 
do  to  deliver  the  letter  through  any  of  the  servants  of 
the  house,  so  we  sent  and  begged  an  Armenian 
neighbour  to  let  one  of  his  men  carry  the  letter.  He 
returned  in  about  half  an  hour,  saying  that  the  porter 
had  informed  him  that  the  Pasha  had  retired  for  the 
night,  but  that  the  letter  would  be  given  to  him  in 
the  morning.  There  was  nothing  more  to  be  done 
except  to  wait ;  but  evidently  our  intended  start  by 
the  morning  train  was  impossible.  The  weeping 
mother  went  away,  and  we  sat  talking  for  a  time, 
until  about  ten  o'clock  the  Jinnji  appeared,  calm  and 
smiling.  We  explained  what  had  happened  to  us, 
and  asked  what  had  happened  to  him.  "  Nothing," 

said  he,  "  the  police  asked  some  questions,  and  let  me 

ij 
g°- 

The  problem  now  was  to  prevent  the  letter  from 


236  Tuesday,  May  1 1 

being  delivered  to  the  Pasha  next  morning,  as  I  should 
look  such  a  fool  if  my  complaint  against  the  police 
turned  out  to  be  utterly  unfounded.  Moreover,  we 
should  now  be  able  to  get  off  by  the  morning  train. 
The  Jinnji  at  once  said  that  he  would  get  the  letter, 
and  in  half  an  hour  he  brought  it  back.  In  any  other 
country  in  the  world  would  a  letter  addressed  to  one 
of  the  highest  Government  officials,  and  delivered 
by  special  messenger,  be  given  back  by  the  porter  to 
a  totally  different  person,  especially  one  of  such  shady 
reputation  ? 

For  a  long  time  I  was  under  the  impression  that 
the  whole  incident  had  been  a  farce,  and  that  the 
mother's  fears  had  exaggerated  the  situation.  It  was 
not  until  several  years  later  that  I  found  out  the  real 
facts.  The  Jinnji  had  been  afraid  to  confess  the 
truth,  lest  we  should  dismiss  him.  He  had  been 
arrested  and  accused  of  selling  antiques.  The  police 
believed  that  he  had  received  money  from  me,  and 
wanted  a  share  of  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  had  not 
as  yet  paid  him  anything,  except  a  trifle  for  expenses. 
His  wages  were  still  unpaid,  and  I  had  never 
purchased  any  antiques  from  him.  Then  news  was 
brought  from  the  Pasha's  house  that  I  had  sent  in  a 
complaint ;  and  it  was  known  that  the  Pasha  was 
very  friendly  to  me.  The  police  hastily  released  the 
Jinnji,  and  the  doorkeeper  at  the  Pasha's  house  was 
glad  to  give  up  the  letter  in  order  to  save  his  friends 
the  police  from  trouble. 

The  other  useful  man  is  a  Turk  named  Mustapha, 
of  great  size,  and  calm,  imperturbable  good-humour, 


The  German  Irrigation  Scheme  237 

who  keeps  a  khan  in  Konia,  and  is  a  man  of  some 
property.  He  is  rather  ashamed  of  being  in  company 
with  such  a  low-class  person  as  the  Jinnji,  and  is  torn 
between  his  loathing  of  the  latter  and  his  real  regard 
for  us.  He  has  a  wonderful  power  of  dealing  with 
the  natives,  soothing  their  prejudices  and  lulling  their 
superstitions;  and  when  others  have  failed,  he  has 
always  succeeded  in  getting  everything  we  needed  or 
wished  in  any  village. 

Wednesday,  May  12. — We  turned  off  north-east 
five  kilometres  to  Tchumra  station,  to  see  the  super- 
intendent of  the  German  irrigation  scheme,  to  whom 
I  had  a  letter  of  recommendation.  He  promised  to 
send  word  to  the  other  stations  along  the  course  re- 
commending us  to  the  superintendents,  who  are  all 
subordinate  to  him.  He  did  not  keep  his  promise  ; 
but  that  made  no  difference  to  our  reception,  as  they 
were  all  only  too  glad  to  see  and  talk  to  Europeans, 
and  received  us  (when  we  went  to  them  three  weeks 
later)  with  the  most  cordial  hospitality. 

The  terminus  of  the  canal  and  chief  distributing 
centre  for  the  water  is  to  be  beside  Tchumra  station, 
and  there  is  quite  a  European  village  there,  brand-new, 
with  seven  engineers,  many  of  the  principal  men  hav- 
ing their  families  with  them.  Most  of  the  engineers  and 
overseers  on  the  works  seem  to  be  Italian ;  three  or 
four  of  the  principal  men,  however,  are  Germans  or 
German  Swiss.  The  two  chiefs  live  at  Konia,  one 
in  the  hotel  (who  was  extremely  courteous  to  me  and 
keenly  interested  in  observing  and  collecting  all  traces 
of  ancient  life  along  the  line  of  the  works),  the  other 


238  Wednesday,  May  12 

apparently  having  his  own  house.  At  Tchumra  village, 
where  we  had  stayed  for  the  previous  night,  there 
was  a  house  in  which  at  least  four  Italian  over- 
seers lived ;  they  called  on  us  when  they  saw  a  tent 
being  put  up,  and  sent  us  some  comforts.  All  were 
Italians,  and  all  were  loud  in  their  complaints  of  the 
treatment  which  they  had  received  from  the  company. 
There  were  no  skilled  workmen  under  them ;  they 
had  to  watch  everything  that  was  done  to  prevent  the 
stupid  Turks  from  going  wrong ;  the  work  was  un- 
ceasing, and  was  not  what  they  had  been  engaged  to 
do  ;  the  pay  was  utterly  inadequate.  "  Nous  sommes 
trompes,"  they  all  declared  and  reiterated.  They 
had  been  freely  partaking  of  raki ;  and  all  along  the 
line  of  the  canal,  at  every  station,  the  evidences  of 
abundant  consumption  of  liquor  were  apparent  to  our 
eyes  and  nostrils.  The  inadequacy  of  the  pay  may 
be  in  part  due  to  the  expense  of  drinking ;  I  under- 
stand that  the  railway  which  employs  them  transports 
all  their  food  and  other  requirements  free.  The 
monotony  of  their  life  is  trying,  and  they  have  few 
intellectual  resources  in  themselves.  Moreover,  the 
water  is  as  a  rule  bad,  and  dangerous  to  drink,  involv- 
ing the  risk  of  typhoid  fever.  Similarly,  when  the 
(English)  Ottoman  Railway  at  Smyrna  was  begun, 
about  fifty  years  ago,  many  English  workmen  were 
brought  out ;  and,  as  I  have  been  told,  two-thirds  of 
them  were  unable  to  withstand  the  temptation  of  drink, 
which  was  so  cheap,  while  the  other  third  became 
prosperous  and  influential. 

The  German  Railways  in  Turkey  have  benefited 


The  German  Irrigation  Scheme  239 

the  country,  and  they  have  benefited  the  promoters, 
who  have  always  received  their  stipulated  guarantee, 
a  very  considerable  annual  sum.  The  Ottoman  Rail- 
way, on  the  other  hand,  an  English  undertaking, 
which  runs  from  Smyrna  244  miles  into  the  country, 
with  various  small  branch  lines  in  addition,  never 
received  a  penny  of  the  payment  guaranteed  by  the 
Porte ;  and,  as  I  believe,  the  Porte  was  due  the 
railway  a  sum  of  ,£570,000,  which  is  not  likely  ever 
to  be  paid.  Yet  the  Ottoman  Railway  was  built 
during  the  time  when  England  exercised  immense 
influence  in  Turkey,  more  influence  than  Germany 
did  even  in  Abd-ul-Hamid's  time.  One  asks  why 
this  was  so,  and  why  debts  to  German  contractors  are 
paid,  while  debts  to  Englishmen  were  allowed  to  lie 
unpaid,  not  merely  the  railway  debt,  but  many  others. 
For  example,  a  Scottish  engineer  was  employed  to 
make  a  shipbuilding  yard,  and  fitted  it  up  with  the 
best  equipment  known  at  the  time — under  Abd-ul- 
Medjid  or  Abd-ul-Aziz,  I  am  not  sure  which.  No 
use  was  ever  made  of  the  yard  ;  the  expensive  equip- 
ment was  left  to  moulder  and  rot ;  and  the  engineer 
received  a  very  small  part  of  his  salary.  The 
engineer  is  dead  long  since,  but  his  brother,  whom  I 
know  well,  told  me  the  story  in  Scotland,  and  I  heard 
it  confirmed  in  Constantinople. 

The  German  Embassy  and  Consulates  champion 
the  cause  of  their  own  people.  The  rule  of  the 
British  Embassy  has  been  to  let  British  merchants 
look  after  themselves,  and  take  their  own  risks. 
There  is  a  certain  nobility  about  the  latter  way :  the 


240  Wednesday,  May  12 

British  Embassy  existed  to  serve  no  private  ends, 
but  for  higher  purposes  than  to  push  trade.  Un- 
doubtedly there  have  been  abuses,  when  Consuls 
were  permitted  to  serve  the  advantage  of  private 
individuals.  There  is  a  story  that  the  right  which 
all  Consuls  enjoy,  of  having  their  private  property 
brought  in  duty-free,  was  used  by  the  Consul  of  a 
certain  small  European  country  to  introduce  pianos 
for  his  friends — presumably,  receiving  a  consideration 
in  return — until  the  number  of  consular  pianos  at- 
tracted even  Turkish  attention,  and  the  practice  was 
stopped.  The  British  Embassy  has  been  free  from 
shady  transactions  in  enforcing  the  claims  of  subjects 
against  the  Porte,  whereas  certain  Ambassadors  and 
Embassies  have  caused  much  scandal  by  using  pressure 
to  enforce  claims  which  are  believed  to  have  been  exag- 
gerated and  unjust.  Stories  of  that  kind  I  refrain  from 
repeating  ;  but  they  were  believed  and  remembered. 
It  has  certainly  been  a  distinct  gain  to  Great 
Britain  in  Turkey  that  no  such  scandals  were  con- 
nected with  our  Embassy.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  our  rule  has  not  been 
carried  too  far.  The  feeling  is  widely  spread  among 
British  merchants  that  their  cases  have  often  been 
sacrificed  by  the  supineness  and  carelessness  of  the 
British  officials,  who  were  inclined  to  substitute  for 
the  old  Elizabethan  description  of  an  Ambassador, 
as  a  person  sent  abroad  to  lie  for  his  country,  a  new 
definition,  that  the  Ambassador  is  a  man  sent  out  to 
do  nothing  for  his  countrymen.  But  in  recent  years 
much  greater  activity  has  been  shown,  I  believe. 


XX.— P.  240. 


African  Woman  (Arab  in  Turkish),  Slave  in  the  Kadi's  Household 

at  Dorla. 

See  p.  271. 


Official  Support  of  Merchants  241 

I  try  to  state  fairly  both  the  best  and  the  worst 
aspect  of  the  British  principle  ;  and  the  case  may  be 
illustrated  by  one  or  two  incidents  which  are,  I  think, 
accurately  stated,  as  I  have  known  and  talked  with 
most  of  the  persons  concerned.  There  is  a  British 
trader  in  a  certain  large  Turkish  city  who  wished 
some  years  ago  to  employ  electric  light  in  his  place. 
It  was  a  matter  of  about  ,£5,000  value.  Friends  of 
his  and  mine  had  already  electric  installations  in  their 
houses,  but  the  machinery  had  not  been  brought 
through  the  custom-house.  There  were  other  ways 
of  managing.  The  old  Sultan's  hostility  to  all  electric 
machinery  was  well  known.  He  had  heard  that  a 
dynamo  was  a  necessary  part  of  the  electric  instal- 
lation, and  he  connected  it  with  dynamite,  of  which 
he  entertained  a  panic  fear.  Even  motor  cars  were 
forbidden  to  be  imported  in  his  time;  yet  I  have  in 
the  old  Sultan's  time  driven  in  a  motor  car,  and  lived 
in  a  house  lit  by  electricity,  generated  by  an  apparatus 
imported  in  spite  of  the  prohibition.  The  tradesman 
of  whom  I  speak  wished  to  have  the  plant  brought  in 
by  a  legal  method  through  the  custom-house.  He 
knew  that  it  was  lawful  merchandise,  which  the  Turks 
had  no  right  to  prohibit ;  and  he  desired  to  give  the 
order  to  a  British  firm.  He  went  to  his  Consul,  and 
stated  his  wish  and  made  his  claim  to  have  the 
machinery  imported  in  the  regular  way.  The  British 
authorities  would  not  move  a  finger  to  help  him. 
After  some  negotiation,  finding  that  the  thing  could 
not  be  done,  he  went  to  the  German  Consul,  with  the 

same  request.     The  Consul  replied  at  once  that,  if 

16 


242  Wednesday,  May   12 

the  order  was  on  a  German  firm,  it  would  be  executed 
in  the  regular  way  at  the  regular  trade  price  ;  the 
installation  would  be  made  by  the  German  firm,  and 
started  in  good  order ;  the  only  payment  beyond  the 
book-price  would  be  the  duty  at  the  custom-house,  at 
that  time  8  per  cent,  on  the  value  of  imports.1  The 
matter  was  carried  through ;  the  German  Ambas- 
sador insisted  on  the  legal  right  of  trade  according 
to  treaty  and  the  Capitulations.  The  goods  were 
brought  in  over  the  quay,  the  installation  made,  and 
when  all  was  ready,  in  good  working  order  and  fully 
tested,  the  bill  was  presented  and  paid.  The  im- 
mediate result  was  that  several  similar  orders  were 
placed  with  the  same  German  Electric  Company  by 
other  traders  in  the  city. 

The  story  was  told  me  first  by  an  engineer  (an  in- 
timate friend  of  the  trader  concerned  in  the  matter) 
in  a  remote  part  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  and  afterwards 
independently  by  a  well-known  and  influential  person 
in  Constantinople.  Finally,  I  chanced  to  travel  from 
Constantinople  to  Berlin  with  a  Briton,  who  in  con- 
versation turned  out  to  know  many  of  my  friends  in 
Turkey.  After  a  time  he  told  me  his  name  ;  he  had 
known  mine  at  once,  because  he  had  heard  me  speak 
about  some  remote  place  in  Anatolia.  British 
travellers  are  rare  there,  and  nobody  else  has  travelled 
much  and  continues  to  travel,  so  that  those  who 
know  the  land  well  know  the  pair  of  us,  my  wife 
and  myself,  and  we  are  often  addressed  in  railway 

1  It  has  been  increased  since  that  time. 


Skilled  Workmen  in   Turkey  and  Scotland    243 

carriages  and  steamers  and  remote  stations  by  people 
of  all  kinds  and  very  various  rank  in  life,  and  have 
made  numberless  useful  and  instructive  acquaintances 
in  that  way.  At  once  I  recognised  our  fellow-travel- 
ler's name  :  he  was  the  "fountain  and  origin"  of  the 
whole  Electric  Lighting  affair,  of  which  I  had  heard 
so  much,  and  I  seized  the  opportunity  of  hearing  the 
story  from  his  own  lips,  confirming  in  all  respects 
what  I  had  already  heard  from  other  authorities. 

A  remark  which  he  made  incidentally  struck  me  as 
one  of  the  most  noteworthy  things  I  had  ever  heard. 
He  said  that,  although  he  found  the  climate  in  Tur- 
key so  trying  that  he  had  to  spend  the  three  hot 
months  of  every  year  in  Scotland,  he  could  never 
resume  business  in  his  native  country.  In  Turkey 
every  one  of  his  workmen  was  an  educated  man,  with 
whom  he  could  deal  directly  and  on  pleasant  terms  ; 
and  he  could  not  now  stand  the  worry  and  wear  of 
dealing  with  the  uneducated  and  unreasoning  work- 
men at  home,  who  never  knew  what  was  the  real 
state  of  the  facts,  but  were  only  certain  that  whatever 
the  employer  said  must  be  false  and  intended  to 
deceive.  His  statement  was  also  a  remarkable  testi- 
monial to  the  American  Mission  schools  ;  many  of  his 
workmen  (and  he  has  the  largest  business  of  its  kind 
in  Turkey)  were  educated  there,  and  every  one  of 
them  had  a  career  and  a  good  future  before  him,  and 
was  likely  to  leave  an  educated,  prosperous  and  pro- 
gressive family  behind  him  when  death  overtook 
him. 

When  one  compares  this  testimony,  not  given  as 


244  Wednesday,  May  12 

evidence,  but  thrown  out  incidentally,  with  what  one 
knows  about  the  working-man  in  one's  own  country, 
it  gives  one  pause  and  makes  one  think.  The 
difference  lies  in  the  false  system  of  education  at  home 
(which  is  too  literary  and  abstract),  and  in  the  habit 
of  drinking. 

Starting  from  his  experience  regarding  the  Electric 
Lighting  affair  the  same  gentleman  told  me  much 
about  the  difficulties  that  he  had  to  encounter.  He 
had  only  been  out  seventeen  years  in  Turkey,  starting 
in  mature 'life  ;  a  stranger  cannot  easily  learn  how  to 
manage  business  directly  with  Government,  and  re- 
mains dependent  on  Consuls  and  other  officials.  The 
most  prosperous  British  enterprises  in  Turkey  all 
deal  with  the  Turks  without  intermediary,  and  could 
not  be  conducted  successfully  on  any  other  principle. 
Once  the  Turkish  custom-house  put  a  ridiculously 
excessive  valuation  on  some  large  machinery  which 
he  was  bringing  in,  and  charged  him  an  import  duty 
that  would  turn  the  transaction  into  a  serious  loss  for 
him.  The  Consulate  tried,  but  could  produce  no 
effect.  The  Turkish  officials  were  adamantine  ;  they 
were  masters  of  the  situation,  and  they  would  not 
listen  to  any  appeals.  He  was  leaving  the  Govern- 
ment House  in  despair,  after  long  negotiations.  An 
Armenian  business  acquaintance  met  him,  and  re- 
marked that  he  was  looking  very  disconsolate.  He 
told  the  story.  "  Come  away  back  with  me,"  said  the 
Armenian,  and  they  returned  to  the  Governor.  The 
Armenian  pointed  out  that  such  imposition,  in 
defiance  of  law  and  the  proved  value  of  the  property, 


A  Story  of  Electric  Lighting  245 

made  business  impossible,  and  would  ultimately  des- 
troy the  trade  of  the  harbour.  So  effectively  did  he 
put  the  case  that  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  whole 
thing  was  ended,  and  a  fair  rate  agreed  upon.  One 
of  the  most  hated  and  persecuted  race  in  Turkey  had 
done  in  a  few  minutes  what  all  the  efforts  of  consular 
officials  had  failed  to  effect  after  days  of  negotiation. 
There  is  a  way  of  dealing  with  the  Turk,  and  some 
people  can  learn  it,  while  others  cannot.  I  know  men 
who  become  only  more  helpless  and  useless  the 
longer  they  are  in  Turkey  ;  and  these  are  men  of  the 
very  highest  ability,  fit  to  do  excellent  service  to  their 
country  in  other  circumstances,  but  utterly  out  of  har- 
mony with  the  surroundings  of  Turkish  work  ;  and 
you  can  see  in  their  expression  that  every  year  they 
grow  more  dispirited,  more  disgusted  and  less  able. 
But  the  chance  of  some  examination,  which  forms 
hardly  a  better  test  of  capacity  for  their  special  work 
than  the  old  Chinese  official  examination,  has  thrown 
them  into  a  line  of  life  for  which  they  are  unsuited, 
and  which  they  hate,  and  has  ruined  their  opportunities 
for  an  honourable  and  perhaps  distinguished  career. 

My  travelling  acquaintance  told  me  of  a  case  at 
law,  in  which  an  official  had  given  to  the  judge  an 
unsworn  copy  of  the  critical  document  on  which  his 
claim  was  based,  although  there  was  a  sworn  copy 
prepared  for  the  purpose.  The  adversary,  who  was 
well  served  with  private  information,  pounced  on  this 
irregularity  in  court ;  and  the  case  was  dismissed 
since  a  fundamental  requirement  had  not  been  com- 
plied with. 


246  Wednesday,  May  12 

The  story  goes  that  three  or  four  years  ago  the 
Ottoman  Railway  had  to  make  a  new  pier  to  accom- 
modate its  increasing  traffic,  and  demanded  a  certain 
right  regarding  custom-house  dues  and  the  method 
of  levying  them,  a  right  which  was  guaranteed  in  the 
railway  charter.  This  was  refused.  The  Embassy 
was  invoked,  and  the  proper  official  was  sent  down 
to  investigate  the  facts.  He  reported  that  the  right 
claimed  by  the  railway  was  incontestable,  and  that 
the  charter  was  clear  and  definite.  The  report  was 
suppressed,  and  a  second  official,  next  in  order,  was 
sent  down  to  look  into  the  claim.  He  reported  in 
the  same  terms.  His  report  also  was  suppressed, 
and  a  third  official  was  sent  down  to  investigate. 
He  reported  in  a  different  way,  which  would  justify 
the  Ambassador  in  declining  to  intervene ;  and  this 
report  was  adopted  as  authoritative.  Finally,  after 
some  months'  trial,  the  Turks  (I  think)  found  that 
the  way  on  which  they  had  insisted  was  so  awkward 
for  themselves,  not  to  speak  of  the  railway,  that  they 
had  to  adopt  the  method  stipulated  in  the  charter ; 
and  so  all  came  right  in  the  long  run  by  a  somewhat 
roundabout  way.  Both  Turks  and  English  have  a 
way,  amusing  to  read  about,  but  exasperating  for 
those  who  have  to  live  in  it,  of  muddling  through  a 
difficulty  and  getting  out  of  it  after  all. 

One  of  my  old  pupils,  who  has  travelled  much  in 
the  country,  met  a  delightful  Turk,  who  said  that 
there  was  only  one  thing  needed  to  make  the  relations 
between  England  and  Turkey  perfect,  and  that  was 
to  sweep  away  all  the  Consular  officials  at  the  one 


Turks  plan  to  improve  Anglo-Turkish  Relation     247 

great  harbour  which  he  knew  ;  and  he  strongly  advised 
my  young  friend  to  write  an  article  in  the  Times, 
pointing  out  the  need  and  advantage  of  this  step. 
One  can  understand  why  it  is  that  Turks  and  English 
people  usually  are  on  such  friendly  and  cordial  terms, 
when  one  hears  a  Turk  make  in  perfect  sincerity  a 
suggestion  like  this.  Both  Briton  and  Turk  hate  red- 
tape,  and  have  a  certain  straightforward  thoroughness 
in  their  thought  and  expression,  which  each  appreci- 
ates in  the  other. 

Whatever  temporary  differences  may  arise,  as  in 
the  spring  of  1909,  we  have  always  a  permanent  and 
strong  foundation  to  rest  on  in  dealing  with  Turkey  ; 
and  that  carelessness  of  British  interests  on  the  part 
of  British  Ambassadors,  which  has  been  carried  to 
such  extremes  as  I  described,  has  about  it  something 
that  touches  a  sympathetic  chord  in  the  Turks. 
They  feel  that,  after  all,  they  are  safer  in  dealing  with 
us  than  with  any  other  people,  and  that  we  give  them 
fairer  treatment,  though  they  hate  the  good  advice 
which  our  statesmen  are  always  giving,  and  still  more 
the  manner  in  which  the  good  advice  is  tendered. 

I  could  tell  my  companion  what  my  experience  had 
been.  When  my  wife  and  I  first  landed  in  Smyrna 
in  May,  1880,  brigandage  was  rife,  and  the  streets  of 
the  city  were  unsafe  after  evening  came  on.  Rob- 
beries and  murders  occurred  in  the  most  public  parts 
of  the  town,  and  blackmailing  was  common.  Our 
Consul  forbade  us  to  make  any  excursions,  and  de- 
stroyed my  whole  reason  for  existence  in  Turkey.  I 
had  access  to  information  a  hundred  times  better  than 


248  Wednesday,  May  12 

he  could  command  as  to  the  state  of  the  country. 
Bands  of  brigands  cannot  go  about  without  their 
movements  becoming  known  to  the  peasants  in  the 
mountains.  The  Consul,  who  knew  no  language  of 
the  country,  and  was  far  too  great  a  man  to  have  or 
desire  access  to  the  useful  sources  of  information,  was 
quite  unfitted  to  determine  what  we  should  do  or 
what  was  safe,  so  he  freed  himself  from  possible  blame 
by  ordering  us  to  stay  at  home.  We  did  not  obey 
him,  but  went  about  the  disturbed  country,  acting 
prudently,  getting  information  from  a  good  source, 
and  never  letting  our  plans  be  known  to  any  one 
before  we  actually  rode  out  of  the  town. 

Then  I  received  an  official  warning  that  the  Consul 
had  written  to  the  Foreign  Office,  informing  the 
authorities  that  I  persistently  disobeyed  his  orders  and 
warnings,  and  that  he  washed  his  hands  of  all  responsi- 
bility for  me.  My  wife,  being  only  a  lady,  was  not 
included  in  the  denunciation.  We  set  the  proper 
value  on  this  warning,  and  carried  out  the  work  which 
I  had  been  sent  to  do.  But  these  facts  may  show 
what  would  be  the  fate  of  any  Briton  who  let  himself 
be  guided  by  a  Consul  ignorant  of  the  country,  its 
people  and  its  languages,  free  from  any  desire  to  help 
his  countrymen  and  only  eager  to  avoid  trouble,  and 
above  all  not  to  send  home  any  business  which  might 
trouble  the  Foreign  Office  and  endanger  his  standing 
with  the  authorities  in  London. 

From  that  time  on  I  made  it  a  rule  never  to  go  to 
a  Consul  on  business,  but  to  be  on  friendly  terms  with 
them  all  in  private  life.  Unluckily,  as  the  years 


I 


Officialism  and  Red  Tape  249 

passed,  rules  in  Turkey  became  more  stringent  about 
travelling,  and  we  were  compelled  to  procure  some 
papers  through  the  Consuls.  First  of  all,  a  passport 
was  required,  and  in  1 884  we  got  a  joint  passport  at 
Athens.  Some  years  later  a  regulation  was  made 
that  a  Turkish  visa  must  be  procured  through  the 
British  Consulate  before  one  could  leave  the  country, 
and  a  travelling  order  (Teskere)  must  be  procured  in 
the  same  way  before  one  could  go  from  one  Turkish 
town  to  another.  Thus  we  were  again  tied  up  with  the 
red-tape  of  Consulates  ;  and  for  years  the  most  trouble- 
some and  unremunerative  part  of  Turkish  travel 
has  been  to  dance  attendance  on  Consulates  until 
some  one  deigned  to  attend  to  us,  when  he  often 
refused  on  some  frivolous  reason  to  procure  the 
order  or  the  visa.  In  such  cases  we,  though  law- 
abiding  citizens,  resolved  that  we  were  absolved  from 
obedience  ;  and,  having  applied  in  vain  for  the  proper 
papers,  we  travelled  without  them,  and  have  never 
failed  to  meet  from  the  Turks  that  courtesy  and 
reasonable  treatment  which  our  own  officials  had 
denied  us. 

The  Consuls,  however,  seem  to  be  personally  not 
to  blame  in  many  cases,  where  they  have  to  refuse 
perfectly  reasonable  requests.  The  fault  often  lies 
in  the  new  cast-iron  regulations  which  they  have  to 
administer.  As  passports  are  necessary  in  Turkey, 
our  officials  in  London  have  resolved  to  make  them 
a  reality.  Formerly  no  one  in  Britain  paid  any  at- 
tention to  a  passport,  but  regarded  it  as  an  absurdity 
current  in  retrograde  countries,  which  one  must  there 


250  Wednesday,  May  12 

submit  to,  but  which  ranked  among  the  "methods  of 
barbarism,"  alien  to  English  manners.  In  the  last 
four  or  five  years,  however,  new  regulations  of  the 
strictest  kind  have  been  issued  by  the  Foreign  Office. 
A  passport  is  treated  as  a  sacred  institution,  and 
hedged  about  with  formalities  and  regulations  which 
would  be  ridiculous  if  they  were  not  so  detestable  and 
uncivilised.  Why  should  Britain  imitate  the  methods 
of  Russia  and  Turkey  at  their  worst?  Some  ex- 
amples of  what  occurs  will  be  given  at  the  end  of  our 
expedition. 

But  in  private  life,  apart  from  official  business,  it 
has  been  my  fortune  to  receive  from  many  Consuls 
a  great  deal  of  kindness  and  help.  As  officials  they 
would  not  move  a  finger  to  aid  my  exploration, 
but  as  private  persons  many  of  them  have  been 
the  pleasantest  and  most  useful  of  associates,1  from 
whom  one  could  learn  a  great  deal.  To  the  military 
Consuls  who  were  in  Anatolia  from  1879  to  1882  I 
am  indebted  for  most  of  what  I  have  done  or  learned 
in  Turkey,  because  without  their  help  I  should  have 
had  few  opportunities  at  the  beginning  of  my  time, 
and  might  have  gone  out  and  returned  without  a 
chance  of  doing,  or  of  knowing  how  to  do,  anything 
serious  in  Turkey.  They  were,  it  is  true,  an  ex- 
ceptionally able  lot,  as  is  evident  from  their  career 
before  and  after  the  time  which  they  spent  in  Asia 
Minor  ;  the  Consul-General  was  General  Sir  Charles 

1  The  distinction  was  stated  to  me  by  a  Consul  who  unofficially 
was  kindness  personified,  but  who  pointed  out  that  officially  it  was 
no  part  of  his  duty  to  do  anything  for  me. 


Consular  Kindness  251 

Wilson,  and  the  Vice-Consuls  were  Lord  Kitchener, 
General  Sir  H.  Chermside,  Major  Bennet,  Colonel 
Turberville  and  Colonel  Stewart  (who  was  killed  by 
the  Arabs  on  his  way  north  from  Khartoum,  where 
he  was  with  General  Gordon).1  Yet  none  of  them 
exercised  more  influence  or  did  greater  service  in 
Turkey  than  the  present  Consul  in  Konia  and  Adana, 
Major  Doughty  Wylie,  who,  coming  to  Konia  when 
English  prestige  was  very  low  in  Turkish  official 
circles,  and  when  a  Governor  (Vali)  of  the  Province 
specially  hostile  to  Americans  and  English  was  in 
office,  acquired  by  pure  merit  and  by  the  generous 
yet  judicious  charities  of  his  wife  an  unusually  great 
rank  in  general  estimation,  which  not  even  the  most 
hostile  of  governors  could  neglect. 

The  Vali  was  rather  an  interesting  study.  In 
another  office,  which  he  held  before  he  came  to  Konia, 
he  had  a  sharp  encounter  with  the  American  mission- 
aries, with  whose  rights  he  tried  to  interfere  ;  he  was 
worsted  in  the  encounter,  as  the  rights  were  incon- 
testable ;  but  he  felt  the  humiliation  bitterly,  and 
devoted  himself  thereafter  to  annoying  all  English 
and  Americans,  whom  he  regarded  as  one  people.2 

1 1  give  their  later  names  and  titles ;  in  1 880  most  of  them  were 
only  lieutenants,  and  none  was  of  higher  rank  than  major.  There 
were,  perhaps,  others  not  known  to  me. 

2  This  idea  was  facilitated  by  the  fact  that,  where  there  is  no 
American  Consul,  as,  for  example,  at  Konia,  the  English  Consul 
acts  officially  for  the  Americans.  Moreover,  the  American 
missionaries  are  generally  so  sympathetic  with  the  English  as  to 
be  practically  one  people  in  Turkey ;  and  in  fact  quite  a  number 
of  the  American  missionaries  are  Canadians  and  British  subjects- 


252  Wednesday,  May  12 

He  succeeded  in  closing  an  American  Mission  School 
for  girls  in  Konia.  Major  Doughty  Wylie  attempted 
to  protect  the  school ;  but  all  that  he  could  do  was 
to  report  to  the  American  Embassy,  which  took  no 
steps,  and  so  far  as  I  know  did  not  even  acknowledge 
his  letters  and  telegrams. 

We  had  some  difficulty  with  the  Vali  at  first  in 
1907  ;  and  in  spite  of  the  firman  authorising  excava- 
tion he  actually  forbade  our  coadjutor  (who  had  gone 
up  to  Konia  before  us)  to  move  a  cupful  of  earth  on 
the  site.  We  appealed  to  the  Grand  Vizier,  and  his 
protection  enabled  us  to  do  as  we  pleased.  It  was 
an  amusing  experience,  calling  on  the  Vali  in  1907 
and  1908,  to  observe  his  annoyance  at  having  to  con- 
cede the  freedom  which  he  would  fain  have  denied 
us  ;  but  the  Grand  Vizier's  orders  were  not  to  be 
disobeyed.  As  I  watched  him  a  scene  in  the 
Pilgrim's  Progress  rose  to  my  memory  (I  hope  I 
am  remembering  it  correctly) ;  he  seemed  to  me  like 
Giant  Pope  and  Giant  Pagan  gnashing  impotent  teeth 
at  Christian  as  he  passed  by. 

By  a  strange  chance  this  same  Vali  was  afterwards 
transferred  to  Adana,  and  was  in  power  there  when 
the  massacres  of  I4th  April  and  the  following  days 
occurred  in  the  city  and  the  province ;  and  it  was 
Major  Doughty  Wylie  who  had  to  protect  the 
Armenians  in  spite  of  his  supine  indifference.  The 
Vali  would  not  allow  the  soldiers  to  make  any  move- 
ment to  check  the  disorders,  but  sat  still  and  allowed 
the  populace  to  shoot  and  burn  as  they  pleased. 
Major  Doughty  Wylie  hurried  from  his  office  at 


Prisoners   Walking  to  Adana  253 

Mersina  by  special  train  to  Adana,  insisted  that  the 
Vali  must  take  steps  to  restore  peace,  patrolled  the 
town  himself  to  be  a  witness  of  what  occurred,  and 
finally  forced  the  Vali  to  send  out  some  troops,  whom 
the  Consul  himself  led  until  he  was  wounded,  when  a 
young  Canadian  missionary  took  his  place  and  con- 
tinued his  action.  Finally,  it  was  this  same  Vali  who 
was  brought  back  in  custody  through  Konia  two 
days  before  we  arrived  there,  on  his  way  to  Con- 
stantinople. While  everybody  in  Konia  was  praising 
the  Consul's  action,  the  Vali  had  become  the  object 
of  almost  universal  abhorrence  in  the  city. 

At  one  point  where  our  road  crossed  the  line  of 
the  Bagdad  Railway  I  walked  forward  a  kilometre 
to  get  the  exact  distance  from  Konia,  and  thus  to 
estimate  the  working  of  the  trocheameters,  which  we 
had  attached  to  the  wheels  of  two  waggons.  Look- 
ing back  after  a  little  I  saw  that  all  the  rest  had 
stopped.  As  the  day  was  wearing  to  its  close,  and 
we  were  still  far  from  our  destination,  I  felt  a  little 
annoyed  at  the  delay,  and  frantically  signalled  to 
them  to  come  on  ;  but  no  one  paid  any  attention  to 
my  wild  gesticulation.  Then  I  observed  a  small 
troop  of  travellers,  five  horsemen  and  eight  men  on 
foot,  disengage  themselves  from  the  crowd  and  move 
a  few  yards  in  my  direction.  Next  my  wife  and  the 
Hulme  Scholar,  armed  with  kodaks,  took  up  a 
position  in  front  of  the  little  troop,  who  halted  and 
arranged  themselves  to  be  photographed.  The  situa- 
tion appeared  half-comic,  half-torturing,  to  my  im- 
patience. (See  Plate  XIV.) 


254  Wednesday,  May  12 

It  turned  out  that  this  troop  consisted  of  five 
mounted  gendarmes  and  eight  prisoners,  who  were 
being  marched  back  to  Adana.  The  prisoners  had 
escaped  from  jail  during  the  disorders,  and  were 
recaptured  at  Konia.  Six  of  them  were  chained  by 
the  neck  in  a  row  ;  two  were  chained  together  by 
the  hand — the  latter  were  persons  with  money,  who 
could  buy  this  small  indulgence — but  all  had  to  walk 
that  long  journey  of  350  kilometres  to  Adana.  The 
Hulme  Scholar  remarked  to  the  Jinnji  on  the 
different  treatment  accorded  to  rich  and  poor,  and 
asked  how  this  was  permitted  under  the  Constitu- 
tion. Every  one  now  talks  of  the  Constitution 
(Syntagma)  and  Liberty  (Hurriet).  The  Greek 
philosophically  replied  that  whether  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment was  democracy  or  oligarchy  or  autocracy, 
money  was  the  only  real  power. 

The  two  rich  men  looked  particularly  sick  and 
wretched.  They  had  not  been  used  to  walk  ;  and,  in 
addition  to  the  physical  fatigue,  every  one  here  has 
heard  that  under  the  Constitution  people  are  being 
hanged  in  Constantinople,  whereas  under  the  old 
Sultan  no  criminal  was  ever  executed.  It  was  only 
the  innocent  or  the  freedom-loving  Turks  who  were 
secretly  drowned.  The  real  criminals  were  not  put 
to  death.  Abd-ul-Hamid  had  the  strongest  objection 
to  signing  the  death-warrant  of  any  individual,  and 
often  took  credit  to  himself  for  his  soft-heartedness  in 
this  respect.  The  fact  was  indubitable;  and  the 
result  was  that  no  scoundrel  in  Turkey  could  be  got 
rid  of,  except  when  some  rich  or  influential  persons 


Sultans  dislike  to  sign  Death  Sentence      255 

had  a  strong  interest  in  ridding  themselves  and  the 
world  of  him ;  in  such  a  case  a  judiciously  ad- 
ministered bribe  would  result  in  an  accident  taking 
place,  whereby  the  malefactor  was  unfortunately  in- 
jured so  that  his  death  ensued. 

I  used  to  suppose  that  this  reluctance  to  sign  a 
death-warrant  was  an  idiosyncrasy  of  the  old  Sultan  ; 
but  in  1875  Miss  Muir  Mackenzie  and  Miss  Irby,  in 
their  Travels  in  the  Slavonic  Provinces  of  European 
Turkey,  mention  a  similar  trait  as  universal  among 
Turkish  officials.  In  their  first  volume  (p.  108)  they 
say  :  "In  Turkey  capital  sentences  are  rare.  A 
criminal  will  be  ordered  to  receive  a  number  of 
lashes,  under  half  of  which  he  dies,  or  he  is  assigned 
a  term  of  imprisonment  in  a  loathsome  den,  wherein 
he  is  certain  to  perish ;  but  he  is  not  sentenced  to 
die." 

As  to  the  gendarmes  their  principle  of  action  was 
always  the  same.  Their  nominal  pay  was  very  small. 
Their  actual  pay  was  much  smaller.  They  must  live ; 
and  it  was  more  profitable  to  arrest  a  series  of  in- 
nocent persons,  who  would  buy  their  release  from 
confinement,  than  to  catch  the  malefactor  and  bring 
the  business  to  a  speedy  end.  A  friend  of  mine  was 
talking  to  one  of  them,  and  expressed  sympathy  with 
his  scanty  pay,  and  wondered  how  he  and  other 
gendarmes  could  contrive  to  live.  "  Eh,"  said  he, 
"we  lie  and  steal  and  trust  in  God." 

My  wife,  sympathising  with  the  poor  wretches  in 
chains,  gave  some  money  to  one  of  the  gendarmes, 
telling  him  to  give  them  all  coffee  as  opportunity 


256  Wednesday,  May  12 

occurred,  whereupon  the  prisoners  salaamed  politely 
to  her  and  smiled  their  thanks. 

Archaeological  work  had  detained  us  long  both 
yesterday  and  this  morning ;  and  as  the  afternoon 
grew  late  we  were  still  far  from  our  destination, 
Dorla ;  and  I  observed  that  we  had  taken  the  wrong 
road  and  were  going  straight  to  Dinek  Serai,  a 
village  about  four  miles  west  of  Dorla.  As  there  is 
at  Dinek  Serai  a  long  and  very  difficult  early  Christian 
metrical  epitaph,  I  accepted  the  omen  and  resolved 
to  go  and  have  a  look  at  the  letters  in  the  evening 
light ;  formerly  I  saw  them  only  in  morning  light, 
and  the  changed  direction  of  the  little  shadows  might 
perhaps  bring  out  here  and  there  some  part  of  a  letter 
which  was  before  too  faint  to  catch  the  eye  ;  and 
even  a  scrap  of  a  letter  sometimes  is  a  guide  to  truth. 
In  the  East  one  acquires  the  habit  of  trusting  to 
Fate,  and  going  where  circumstances  direct.  It 
seemed  quite  evident  that  it  was  kismet  that  the 
foremost  driver  should  take  the  wrong  turn,  that 
every  one  else  in  a  large  company  should  follow  the 
error  on  a  road  which  most  of  us  knew  well,  and  on 
which  the  hills  behind  Dorla  had  been  clearly  visible 
to  us  for  several  hours  ;  and  therefore  that  destiny  had 
willed  that  we  should  go  straight  to  Dinek  Serai. 
But,  as  it  turned  out  before  sunset,  either  I  had 
mistaken  the  signs,  or  destiny  was  resolved  to  play  us 
a  scurvy  trick  ;  for  a  very  short  time  was  sufficient  to 
show  that  it  was  a  great  mistake  to  go  to  the  village 
at  this  time. 

Dinek  Serai  lies  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Tchar- 


XXII.— P.  256. 


Village  Children  at  Appa. 


XXIII. 


Isaurian  Tombstone  at  Appa  in  the  hill  country  of  Lystra. 


Mohammedan  Feeling  in  the   Villages         257 

shamba  River,  which  is  here  crossed  by  a  modern 
Turkish  bridge.  The  German  engineers  have  here 
improved  the  channel  of  the  stream,  which  was  eating 
away  the  soft  soil  of  the  banks  and  would  probably 
have  isolated  the  bridge  after  a  time.  The  banks  are 
lined  with  stones  on  both  sides  of  the  bridge,  and 
farther  away  they  are  cut  to  form  a  clean  channel  for 
the  water.  A  telegraph  line  has  been  put  up  along 
the  stream,  doubtless  by  the  Germans  to  maintain 
communication  along  the  course  of  their  works. 
Beside  the  village  is  a  large  tumulus,  which  must 
contain  vestiges  of  an  ancient  town. 

The  Tcharshamba  River  is  an  important  part  of  the 
irrigation  channel,  which  the  engineers  are  making. 
The  water  of  the  great  lakes  is  to  be  conducted  into 
the  river,  which  flows  into  the  plain  of  Konia  and 
there  loses  itself  in  marshes. 

[I  may  conveniently  explain  at  this  point  the  situa- 
tion and  the  feeling  shown  in  the  villages  during  our 
wanderings  in  1909.  The  people  were  in  a  quite 
different  temper  from  what  I  had  ever  known  before ; 
and  I  made  several  mistakes  in  handling  them,  owing 
to  my  not  recognising  soon  enough  the  change  of 
temper  that  had  occurred.  When  I  tried  the  old 
methods  the  results  were  quite  different,  because  the 
people  resented  what  in  former  years  they  would  have 
enjoyed  and  been  amused  at.  The  indications  may 
be  summed  up  here  once  for  all,  as  it  is  not  my 
intention  to  print  the  diary  of  the  following  weeks  so 
carefully  as  has  been  done  for  the  preceding  time, 
but  merely  to  give  what  illustrates  the  state  of  Turkish 

17 


258  Wednesday,  May  12 

feeling  and  to  omit  most  of  the  travelling  and  anti- 
quarian details. 

Already  at  Constantinople  we  had  observed  the 
sullen  temper  and  disobliging  conduct  of  the  priests 
and  hodjas  at  the  Suleimanieh  Mosque ;  but  we 
attributed  it  to  the  disappointment  of  the  priestly 
party  in  Stamboul  at  the  failure  of  the  Reaction  and 
to  their  disapproval  of  the  new  regime.  We  paid  no 
attention  to  it,  but  regarded  it  with  amusement  as  an 
indication  of  what  the  hodjas  had  thought  and  in- 
tended. In  Konia  we  came  little  in  contact  with  the 
humbler  class  of  Moslems,  and  still  less  with  the 
priests.  At  Ladik  we  noticed,  and  I  recorded  in  my 
diary,  that  the  people  were  sullen  and  inhospitable ; 
but  in  former  years  also  occasionally  one  used  to 
meet  with  people  of  that  kind,  and  I  was  too  much 
occupied  with  archaeological  work  to  pay  any  attention 
to  the  signs  of  feeling  in  the  village. 

Next  my  wife  pointed  out  that  there  was  a  quite 
unusual  number  of  men  wearing  the  small,  tightly 
folded  white  turban  outside  the  fez,  which  is  the 
ordinary  mark  of  hodjas  and  other  orders  of  priests. 
She  remarked  one  day,  "  What  a  great  number  of 
hodjas  there  are  in  all  the  villages  ' .  Gradually  we 
found  that  these  were  not  hodjas,  but  ordinary 
villagers.  For  some  reason  the  priestly  symbol  was 
widely  assumed.  It  had,  perhaps,  never  been  ab- 
solutely restricted  to  priests  and  hodjas  ;  but  it  was 
at  least  so  rarely  worn  by  others  that  it  was  commonly 
regarded  as  distinctive  of  priestly  character,  and 
certainly  no  one  wore  it  who  did  not  desire  to  make 


Mohammedan  Peeling  in  the   Villages         259 

his  piety  ostentatious.  So  generally  was  this  re- 
cognised that  in  1883,  when  my  sun-hat  succumbed 
to  the  vicissitudes  of  travel,  and  when  I  was  obliged 
to  wear  a  fez  constantly  and  put  a  folded  white 
handkerchief  round  it  to  ward  off  the  sun's  rays,  I 
was  everywhere  addressed  as  "hodja,"  and  saluted 
with  the  greeting  which  is  reserved  strictly  for 
Moslems  and  never  uttered  by  Moslems  in  Turkey 
to  Christians,  "Selaam  aleikum,"  "Peace  be  with 
you". 

Then  she  found  also  the  women  in  the  villages 
often  asking  whether  the  Armenians  were  coming  to 
kill  them,  and  showing  plainly  that  there  existed  in 
the  villages  some  apprehension  of  a  religious  war. 
The  idea  was  floating  in  the  minds  of  the  rude 
villagers ;  and  one  cannot  be  mistaken  in  deriving  it 
from  a  mistaken  impression  about  the  preaching  of 
massacre  and  holy  war  that  had  occurred  in  Konia 
and  other  cities.  If  there  is  a  war,  there  must  be  an 
army  to  fight  against, — so  reasoned  the  villagers  ;  and 
thus  a  report  spread  widely  among  them  that  an  army 
of  20,000  Armenians  was  on  the  march  to  destroy 
their  homes  and  murder  all  the  Moslems. 

Not  in  one  or  two  villages  merely,  but  everywhere, 
did  we  observe  signs  of  sullenness  and  reluctance  to 
have  any  dealings  with  us.  Even  in  villages  where 
we  had  repeatedly  experienced  the  greatest  kindness 
and  received  a  very  hospitable  welcome  we  noticed 
an  air  of  greater  restraint ;  the  courtesy  was  more 
forced  and  superficial ;  and  people  were  glad  to  see  us 
depart,  even  although  our  presence  was  pouring  into 


260  Wednesday,  May  12 

their  poverty-stricken  homes  a  good  many  pounds 
per  day  and  enriching  the  village.  It  is  mentioned 
in  my  former  book  on  Turkey1  that  often,  after  I 
had  been  conversing  on  the  most  friendly  footing  with 
a  few  Turks  in  a  guest-house,  when  others  came  in  one 
by  one  the  feeling  gradually  changed,  and  a  dividing 
barrier  seemed  to  interpose  itself  between  them  and 
me.  But  in  1909  the  barrier  seemed  almost  always 
to  be  there. 

It  appears  to  me  that  one  cannot  be  wholly  mis- 
taken in  laying  some  stress  on  this  experience.  It 
may  prove  to  be  only  temporary  and  evanescent. 
Next  year  we  may  perhaps  find  that  the  old  condition 
and  feelings  have  resumed  their  sway.  Assuredly,  I 
hope  that  this  is  so.  But  I  must  state  the  impression 
which  is  made  on  my  mind  that  this  experience  is 
only  one  more  indication  of  the  growing  antagonism 
between  Asia  and  Europe.  Europe  has  for  some 
centuries  done  what  it  pleased  in  Asia,  ground  down 
Asia  under  the  heel  of  its  armies,  and  spread  its 
power  far  and  wide  throughout  the  Continent.  But  a 
reaction  is  in  progress.  I  have  noticed  it  every  year 
since  1882,  sometimes  in  one  form,  sometimes  in  an- 
other, and  have  mentioned  it  in  papers  and  books 
published  at  intervals  from  that  year  onwards.2  The 
sleeping  Asiatic  giant  has  been  slowly  wakening ; 
sometimes  he  moves  one  limb  a  little,  sometimes 
another.  The  movements  are  slight,  but  they  are 

1  Impressions  of  Turkey. 

2  Especially  Impressions  of  Turkey,  pp.  136  ff.,  and  older  papers 
quoted  there. 


Growth  of  Mohammedan  Peeling  261 

signs  of  a  new  time  and  of  a  reaction  against  Europe 
which  must  grow  stronger.  If  the  old  Sultan,  Abd- 
ul-H  amid  II.,  had  possessed  as  much  practical  ability 
in  administration  as  he  had  of  diplomatic  skill  and 
cunning,  he  would  have  produced  far  more  effect  than 
he  did.  But  he  evoked  a  Panislamic  spirit  which 
will  not  easily  be  calmed.  Some  observers  from  a 
distance  are  wont  to  depreciate  this  Panislamic  move- 
ment, and  regard  it  as  a  mere  bogey,  devoid  of  reality 
or  power,  evolved  by  panic-struck  or  imaginative 
Europeans  from  their  inner  consciousness  ;  but  those 
who  have  lived  in  Turkey  through  the  last  thirty 
years  and  who  have  had  their  fortunes  and  careers 
and  even  life  staked  on  the  turn  of  the  game  know 
differently.  I  have  heard  an  American  missionary, 
an  old  resident  in  Eastern  Turkey  and  formerly  a 
soldier  of  the  great  war  of  1860-64,  tell  how  he 
and  his  people  felt  in  summer  1882,  when  they  re- 
cognised that  for  them  everything  depended  on  the 
battl  i  of  Tel-el-Kebir,  and  that  the  continuance  of 
their  work  in  Turkey  hung  on  the  success  of  the 
British  soldiers  in  Egypt.  People  who  have  had  the 
opportunity  of  living  through  the  facts  know  that 
Panislamism  is  a  great  power,  and  that  it  is  merely 
one  phase  of  the  Asiatic  Reaction. 

Abd-ul-Hamid  could  call  up  that  spirit,  but  he  had 
not  the  ability  to  use  its  power.  The  question  will 
be  answered  during  the  coming  years,  whether  the 
Young  Turk  revival  may  not  transform  itself  into  a 
nationalist  and  anti-European  movement.  The  best 
and  most  respected  leaders  of  the  revival  had  no  such 


262  Wednesday,  May  12 

thought  in  their  minds  :  their  aims  were  utterly  differ- 
ent. But  the  power  may  prove  stronger  than  they  are, 
and  may  break  them  or  bend  them  to  its  purposes.] 

At  Dinek  Serai,  while  we  proceeded  to  arrange  for 
a  camp,  the  Hulme  Scholar  and  the  Jinnji  went 
to  the  house  in  the  courtyard  of  which  the  two 
pieces  of  the  metrical  epitaph  lie.  The  Jinnji  stood 
outside  and  called,  asking  leave  to  see  the  written 
stone.  A  woman's  voice  replied  in  angry  accents, 
and  our  heralds  retreated  a  little  way,  and  began 
to  parley  with  the  main  force  of  the  enemy,  for  so 
the  whole  of  the  villagers,  led  by  a  most  surly-look- 
ing hodja,  now  openly  showed  themselves.  A  few 
minutes  later,  when  I  came  down,  after  arranging  for 
the  camp  and  leaving  all  the  men  to  make  ready,  I 
found  a  heated  discussion  going  on.  It  was  clear 
that  I  had  made  an  error  in  sending  the  Greek, 
instead  of  a  Mohammedan.  As  yet  one  cannot  tell 
whether  this  row  is  a  small  result  of  the  Reactionary 
movement,  or  merely  due  to  the  more  vigorous 
character  of  the  I  saurian  mountaineers.  Dinek 
Serai  lies  at  the  extreme  outer  edge  of  the  I  saurian 
hills,  and  the  people  of  all  these  hill-villages  are  more 
resolute  and  courageous  than  the  people  of  the  plains  ; 
but  still  I  have  never  before  found  the  slightest 
difficulty  in  arranging  matters  with  them. 

On  this  occasion,  however,  it  came  to  a  regular 
contest ;  at  one  time  it  looked  as  if  blows  would 
result,  and  we  avoided  an  enforced  retreat  by  a 
voluntary  one,  making  it  with  as  little  loss  of  dignity 
as  possible. 


Trouble  at  a   Village  263 

Thursday,  May  13. — At  6  A.M.,  when  we  were 
preparing  to  depart,  a  message  came  to  the  camp  that 
the  stone  would  be  shown  ;  and  the  stern  hodja  made 
his  appearance  to  say  that  all  would  be  arranged. 
We  were  not  much  inclined  to  postpone  our  de- 
parture and  spend  time  with  little  prospect  of  success 
in  revising  the  inscription  in  its  present  position. 
Still  it  seemed  perhaps  better  to  use  the  chance  of  a 
pacific  settlement,  through  which  we  might  buy  the 
whole  stone.  But  on  inquiry  it  turned  out  that  the 
owner  of  the  house  had  gone  away  to  his  vineyard, 
and  would  return  in  two  hours,  when  the  matter 
might  be  arranged.  To  the  Turk  "two  hours" 
meant  that  the  owner  would  return  when  he  had 
finished  his  work,  or  when  he  chose  to  come  ;  we 
should  have  to  send  a  message  or  to  go  and  get  him. 
This  would  give  him  an  advantage  in  the  bargain, 
and  would  cause  much  loss  of  time,  as  his  vineyard 
was  distant.  The  hodja  was  speaking  on  his  own 
account,  and  we  had  no  assurance  that  he  would 
succeed,  though  it  would,  of  course,  be  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  have  him  committed  to  our  side,  and  a 
small  present  promised  in  case  of  success  would 
secure  his  devoted  service.  The  chance,  however, 
was  too  poor,  and  we  declined  to  make  any  change 
in  our  plans. 

In  passing  we  note  that  the  Turks  cultivate  grapes, 
though  they  make  no  wine.  They  use  the  grapes  as 
fresh  fruit,  or  dry  them  and  prepare  various  kinds  of 
delicacies  from  them. 

As  we  had  among  us  too  many  Christians,   we 


264  Thursday,  May  13 

thought  of  sending  one  waggon  to  another  village 
close  at  hand  where  a  new  stone  has  turned  up  ;  but 
this  arrangement  failed,  and  we  all  entered  Dorla 
together.  The  old  Kadi,  Mehmet  Effendi,  met  us  in 
the  village,  and  received  us  with  effusive  hospitality, 
brought  us  to  his  guest-house,  and  placed  himself  and 
all  that  he  had  at  our  service :  it  was  a  fortunate  day 
that  we  had  come,  and  so  on.  Nothing  could  be 
more  polite  and  gracious  than  his  manner,  though  his 
clothes  are  apparently  the  mere  remnants  of  what  he 
wore  in  1904,  when  we  were  last  here.  He  has 
grown  deaf  and  old  in  the  interval,  as  well  as  slovenly 
in  his  attire.  He  told  us  that  he  had  rebuilt  the 
mosque  at  a  cost  of  three  hundred  pounds  Turkish  ; 
the  actual  expenditure  may  be  safely  reduced  to  one- 
sixth  of  his  estimate,  as  no  doubt  all  the  villagers  co- 
operated and  gave  their  labour  free.  But  the  aristocrat 
of  the  village  takes  all  the  credit,  and  the  common 
crowd  sink  out  of  notice.  The  Kadi  Effendi  is 
distinctly  Reactionary,  and  showed  signs  of  horror  as 
we  mentioned  the  new  Sultan,  so  we  hastily  reminded 
him  that  the  new  Sultan  was  the  brother  of  the  old 
one.  He  did  not,  however,  approve  of  the  extent  to 
which  the  Reaction  was  carried  at  Adana,  and  we 
found  common  ground  in  lamenting  the  death  of  so 
many  Mohammedans  and  Christians,  and  the  total 
destruction  of  the  great  city.  The  Kadi's  interest 
lay  in  the  old  regime :  he  promoted  the  rebuilding  of 
the  mosque,  hoping  to  gain  credit  at  the  palace.  The 
old  mosque  was  quite  a  good  one,  and  much  more 
picturesque  than  the  vulgar  new  building.  But  the 


XXIV.— P.  264. 


Portrait  of  Gendarme  of  Konia,  at  work. 


Set  p.  286, 


Doing  Business  with  the  Kadi  265 

rebuilding  proved  his  zeal  in  the  cause  of  Islam.  It 
is  rather  a  blow  to  him  to  find  that  his  cash  is  wasted 
and  the  credit  not  gained.  He  says  that  he  would 
like  to  go  to  Athens  for  medical  treatment.  I  was 
interested  to  observe  that  the  fame  of  Athenian 
science  is  so  great  among  the  Turks  ;  but  probably 
he  has  been  advised  by  some  Greek  that  the  best 
doctors  are  in  Athens.  I  told  him  that  there  were 
excellent  English  and  American  doctors  in  Stamboul, 
and  offered  to  give  him  a  letter  of  introduction  to 
one.  He  said  that  at  present  he  was  too  poor  to 
travel,  and  lamented  his  unremunerative  investment 
in  the  new  mosque. 

We  then  gently  introduced  the  subject  of  excava- 
tions, and  he  quickly  caught  the  prospect  that  there 
was  money  to  be  gained.  If  we  stayed  in  the  village 
for  some  days  there  was  profit  on  the  keep  of  so 
many  people  and  horses  ;  he  made  the  condition  that 
we  should  buy  entirely  from  himself.  Then  there 
was  the  pay  of  the  workmen.  We  offered  ten  piastres 
per  day  to  each  man  ;  he  arranged  to  hire  and  pay 
the  men.  We  are  to  pay  him,  and  he  will  give  them 
a  few  piastres  per  day  and  keep  the  rest  to  himself. 
We  are  not  to  mention  publicly  the  price  that  we 
pay,  but  it  will  be  known  immediately.  There  are 
no  secrets  in  Turkish  villages.  This  method  may 
appear  to  the  Western  mind  rather  dishonest  on  the 
part  of  the  Kadi ;  but  Turkish  opinion  is  very  lenient 
in  judging  such  transactions,  and  the  villagers  will 
only  respect  the  Kadi  all  the  more  for  his  cleverness 
in  business.  He  knows  the  law  of  Islam ;  he  has 


266  Thursday,  May  13 

qualified,  in  whatever  way  qualification  is  tested  in 
Turkey,  as  an  interpreter  of  the  law  ;  his  piety  is  above 
the  reach  of  calumny  ;  and  every  one  knows  that  this 
is  the  Asiatic  principle  of  action. 

Everything  was  settled  in  a  few  minutes,  and  we 
went  out  to  see  the  new  mosque.  The  lower  courses 
consist  almost  wholly  of  fine  ancient  blocks  of  lime- 
stones. The  carving  and  engraving  on  most  of  them 
have  been  obliterated  or  turned  inwards,  but  two  have 
mercifully  been  spared.  One  is  the  great  ornament 
of  the  town,  the  gravestone  of  the  "  Blessed  Papas," 
Bishop  Theophilus  of  the  third  century,  which  would 
be  an  ornament  to  any  museum  in  the  world.  The 
other  is  the  gravestone  of  Bishop  Mammas,  which 
was  formerly  placed  high  in  the  east  wall  of  the  old 
mosque,  upside  down,  so  that  we  could  not  see  it 
except  from  far  below  in  the  most  disadvantageous 
position.  There  were  therefore  some  inaccuracies  in 
our  former  publication,  which  can  now  be  remedied 
as  the  stone  stands  sideways  to  form  the  S.E.  corner 
of  the  mosque. 

The  Kadi  also  undertook  to  arrange  with  the  owner 
of  the  house  in  front  of  which  we  are  to  dig  ;  it  is 
necessary  to  give  him  a  small  gift  beforehand  to 
ensure  his  good-will.  The  Kadi  says  it  can  be  done 
for  two  or  three  dollars.  As  we  had  intended  to 
offer  a  pound  for  good-will,  and  expected  to  pay 
much  more  before  long  in  the  interest  of  friendliness, 
this  is  unexpectedly  cheap.  But  in  the  evening  the 
Kadi  returns  to  say  that  it  will  cost  four  dollars,  as 
the  hodja  who  inhabits  the  house  is  very  hard  to 


Doing  Business  with  the  Kadi  267 

deal  with.  This  I  know  from  of  old  ;  he  sat  on  his 
house-top  in  years  gone  by,  and  cursed  us  freely,  as 
we  turned  round  the  great  gravestone  of  the  "  Blessed 
Papas  "  to  get  it  into  suitable  position  for  photograph- 
ing. He  granted  permission  then  only  after  much 
bargaining  and  money  paid  down  ;  but  he  did  not 
promise  not  to  curse  us,  and  he  did  so  with  all  his 
heart  as  he  sat  and  looked  on.  The  Kadi  now 
promises  to  settle  matters  for  four  dollars,  but  sug- 
gests that  we  give  him  a  pound,  and  everything  will 
be  ready  to  begin  at  5  A.M.  to-morrow.  Meantime 
we  walk  round  the  place  for  the  dig,  and  settle  on  a 
plan  of  operations.  The  available  open  space  has 
become  sadly  contracted  in  recent  time.  Two  new 
houses  have  been  erected  on  the  north  and  east  sides, 
which  were  formerly  open.  The  hodja's  house  and 
courtyard  bound  it  on  the  south  and  west.  The 
new  houses  look  as  wretched  as  the  old  ones ;  they 
indicate  no  increase  in  the  population  or  prosperity 
in  the  village.  The  Turks  never  seem  to  repair  a 
house,  but  to  build  a  new  one  when  some  old  one 
falls  into  absolute  ruin,  so  complete  that  even  a 
Turkish  family  cannot  live  in  it  any  longer. 

Friday,  May  14. — I  sent  off  Mustapha  and  the 
Jinnji  and  the  Corporal  about  5  A.M.  to  get  the  work 
started.  Within  half  an  hour  they  returned.  When 
they  went  up  to  begin  the  digging,  the  owner  of  the 
house  refused  to  permit  anything  to  be  done.  It 
turned  out  that  the  Kadi  had  never  approached  him, 
but  had  kept  the  pound  in  his  own  pocket ;  and  the 
owner  was  naturally  a  little  ruffled  in  feeling,  when  a 


268  Friday,  May  14 


gang  of  workmen  appeared  in  front  of  his  house,  and 
began  to  dig  in  what  he  reckoned  to  be  his  ground. 
Whether  it  is  his  property  or  not  it  would  be  hard  to 
say  ;  but  at  least  such  work  as  we  are  undertaking 
interferes  seriously  with  the  amenity  of  the  household. 
New  negotiations  have  to  be  begun — this  time  with- 
out the  intervention  of  the  Kadi,  who  abstains  from 
appearing  on  the  scene.  It  turns  out  that  the  old 
hodja  is  dead  or  bedridden — I  am  not  sure  which — 
and  his  son  reigns  in  his  stead.  He  is  a  smart  and 
pleasant  young  man,  but  very  decided  in  respect  to 
the  degree  of  freedom  which  he  will  permit ;  and  that 
degree  is  disappointingly  small.  Such  as  it  is,  we  find 
at  once  that  he  is  inflexible  in  maintaining  his  rights, 
but  exceptionally  courteous  and  good-humoured  out- 
side of  them.  Accordingly,  a  few  minutes  suffice  to 
fix  up  the  arrangement :  he  is  to  get  a  pound  down 
and  other  refreshers  from  time  to  time,  as  well  as  the 
right  to  supply  five  workmen  of  his  own,  we  to  pay 
him  ten  piastres  a  day  for  each  man  whom  he  furnishes. 
It  was  rather  a  shock  to  us,  especially  to  my  wife, 
to  find  that  the  Kadi  had  shown  up  so  poorly.  The 
gold  was  too  great  a  temptation  to  him,  and  he  could 
not  give  it  up.  He  is  the  typical  Kadi  of  the  Arabian 
Nights,  who  judges  every  case  according  to  the  price 
paid  by  one  or  both  of  the  parties.  It  is  rare  that 
one  of  these  villagers  can  trust  another.  There  is  no 
credit ;  cash  down  is  the  universal  rule,  for  no  one 
would  believe  that  the  other  party  would  keep  the 
bargain.  Yet  these  same  villagers  will  almost  always 
behave  honestly  in  many  matters.  Most  of  them  will 


The  Kadi  of  the  "Arabian  Nights"         269 

discharge  any  message  and  carry  any  sum  of  money 
for  a  European  faithfully  to  its  destination.  They 
will  prove  thoroughly  trustworthy  servants  in  many 
ways.  But  the  more  educated  they  are,  the  less 
trustworthy  they  become ;  and  the  Kadi  is  after  the 
Turkish  fashion  an  educated  man,  learned  in  the 
Sacred  Law. 

It  is  probable  that  poverty,  due  to  his  bad  invest- 
ment in  the  new  mosque,  has  caused  a  deterioration 
in  his  character.  He  is  certainly  hard  pressed  financi- 
ally. While  he  had  property  in  land,  he  had  very 
little  ready  money.  Hence  the  payment  in  cash 
which  would  be  necessary  for  the  mosque  has  crippled 
him,  and  the  downfall  of  the  old  Sultan  has  destroyed 
all  hope  of  reward  in  this  world  for  the  pious  act. 

Saturday,  May  15. — The  intervals  between  watch- 
ing the  digging  were  occupied  in  trudging  through 
the  village,  copying  inscriptions  and  drawing  orna- 
ments on  gravestones.  One  little  boy  showed  him- 
self very  quick  in  discovering  faint  letters  on  stones 
which  we  had  passed  by  as  uninscribed  ;  and,  becom- 
ing a  wealthy  boy  in  consequence,  stimulated  others 
by  his  example.  In  one  house  the  owner  was  with 
difficulty  induced  by  a  dollar  to  open  the  door  to  us. 
Far  back  in  the  remote  recesses  of  a  dark  stable  we 
found  a  stone  with  letters.  His  wife  placed  herself 
in  front  of  it,  and  demanded  double  pay.  This  we 
were  fully  prepared  to  give,  but  we  teased  her  a  little 
by  pretending  to  bargain,  while  a  man  went  to  bring 
water  to  wash  the  stone  and  a  candle  to  illuminate 
it.  She  made  no  pretence  to  veil  her  face  ;  she  had 


270  Saturday,  May  15 

very  fine  features,  a  strong  handsome  person,  and  a 
bold  almost  impudent  look,  and  she  faced  us  all, 
half  a  dozen  strange  men  and  one  infidel  woman, 
without  the  slightest  sign  of  shame.  As  soon  as  the 
water  and  the  candle  came  I  gave  her  the  rest  of  the 
price  she  demanded,  but  she  would  not  yield  until 
the  Corporal  took  the  first  dollar  from  her  husband's 
hand,  and  gave  it  to  her.  With  my  coin  this  made 
the  sum  for  which  she  was  holding  out,  and  then  she 
stood  back,  and  let  us  study  the  stone. 

A  man  informed  us  that  he  had  built  his  house 
over  an  ancient  building,  and  that  there  were  two 
upright  stones  about  three  feet  deep,  each  of  which 
had  one  side  covered  with  writing ;  it  was,  however, 
impossible  to  get  at  them,  as  they  were  right  under 
the  wall,  and  two  houses  would  be  disturbed  and 
perhaps  be  shaken  and  fall  if  we  tried  to  disclose  the 
inscriptions.  We  have  been  occupied  at  intervals  all 
through  the  day  attempting  to  bargain  with  him, 
offering  to  bring  architects  from  Konia  to  repair  any 
damage  caused  to  the  house,  to  restore  everything  in 
proper  order,  and  to  give  him  a  handsome  present. 
He  was  persuaded  for  a  time  to  yield ;  but  finally  in 
the  evening  he  came  to  say  that  the  women  would 
not  permit  the  work,  as  they  could  not  endure  to 
have  their  household  privacy  violated  by  the  work- 
men. To-day  we  could  only  make  promises  ;  but 
two  days  hence,  when  our  messenger,  whom  we  have 
sent  to  Konia  to  bring  letters,  money  and  stores, 
comes  back,  we  shall  have  gold  coins  to  display  to 
him,  and  I  hope  his  resolution  will  yield  to  the  seduc- 


A  Ladies   Entertainment  271 

tive  influence  of  seeing  and  touching  the  gold.  There 
is  nothing  that  the  Turks  so  love  as  gold.  At  present 
we  have  only  silver,  which  I  have  been  distributing 
lavishly,  paying  every  person  who  points  out  a  stone 
with  letters  or  carving  on  it.  Every  house  seems  to 
contain  one  or  more,  besides  dozens  of  fine  blocks, 
which  either  have  no  ornament,  or  have  the  worked 
side  towards  the  inner  part  of  the  wall. 

A  negro  woman,  born  (as  she  says)  twenty  days' 
journey  beyond  the  Hedjaz  (Arabia),  who  was  brought 
to  this  place  as  a  little  child,  evidently  through  the  slave- 
trade,  came  on  behalf  of  the  Kadi's  ladies  to  invite 
our  ladies  to  an  entertainment  this  afternoon.  My 
wife's  description  of  the  scene  is  as  follows : — 

"  The  Cadi's  house  was  only  a  stone's-throw  from 
the  camp,  a  big  two-storied  building,  outwardly  in 
extremely  bad  repair.  The  entertainment  to  which 
we  were  invited  was  given  by  his  second  daughter, 
Fatma,  who  is  married,  but  lives  with  her  husband  in 
her  own  apartment  under  her  father's  roof.  Margaret 
and  I  were  seated  on  the  divan  at  the  end  of  the 
room,  opposite  the  door,  which  was  open  ;  and  we 
could  see  out  across  the  landing  to  another  room, 
the  door  of  which  was  also  wide  open,  and  in  which 
our  hostess  that  was  to  be  was  attiring  herself  in  her 
festive  garments,  doing  up  her  hair  and  painting  her 
face.  The  notion  of  privacy  was  evidently  far  from 
her,  as,  during  these  interesting  occupations,  she  re- 
mained nearly  all  the  time  in  a  conspicuous  position  in 
front  of  the  open  door,  through  which  she  could  keep 
an  eye  on  what  was  going  on  among  the  rest  of  us. 


272  Saturday,  May  15 

"By  the  time  we  had  finished  our  coffee  she  was 
ready,  and  sent  to  summon  us  to  her  private  abode. 
This  appeared  to  consist  of  a  single  large  room. 
Along  the  end  and  down  one  side  ran  a  broad,  low 
divan.  At  the  end  were  two  windows,  and  behind 
the  divan  at  the  side  deep  cupboards,  let  into  the  wall, 
were  bulging  with  piles  of  mattresses  and  quilts,  half 
concealed  and  half  revealed  by  curtains  of  bright 
print.  The  floor  and  the  divan  were  thickly  covered 
with  carpets,  and  the  latter  was  provided  also  with 
the  usual  stiff  pillows  in  brilliant  covers.  Besides  the 
two  windows  at  the  end  of  the  room  there  were  three 
on  the  side  opposite  the  cupboards,  and  between 
them  the  spaces  (and  every  other  available  space  on 
the  walls)  were  hung  with  carpets  and  embroideries, 
crude  in  colour  and  not  fine  in  texture.  About  two 
feet  from  the  roof  a  narrow  shelf  ran  round  the  room, 
displaying  a  variety  of  plates  and  cups  and  candle- 
sticks. Our  hostess  did  not  by  words  draw  our 
attention  to  her  treasures;  but  her  flashing  glances 
from  them  to  us  and  us  to  them  needed  no  speech  to 
translate  their  meaning,  and  we  poured  forth  exclama- 
tions of  unstinted  admiration.  While  we  were  thus 
engaged  the  room  had  been  gradually  filling,  until 
some  twenty  women,  two  accompanied  by  babies, 
were  seated — most  of  them  on  the  floor — gazing  at 
the  strangers  in  round-eyed  wonder. 

"  Nearly  all  of  these  women  were  more  or  less 
ragged  and  conspicuously  unwashed,  and  one  and  all 
were  barefooted.  Even  those  who  had  come  in 
shoes  were  stockingless,  and  their  shoes,  according  to 


XXV.— P.  27->. 


New  Well  near  Lystra  :  arranging  the  apparatus  for  drawing  water. 

XXVI, 


A  road  in  the  country  of  Lystra :  one  man  for  the  horses  :  two  at  the 
wheels  :  three  passengers  behind. 

See  p.  288. 


A  Ladies   Entertainment  273 

custom,  had  been  left  at  the  door.  They  were  no 
doubt  too  poor  to  possess  any  clothes  but  those  they 
actually  wore.  One  and  all  were  received  with  the 
greatest  cordiality  and  politeness.  So  far  as  clothes 
are  concerned,  there  is  no  '  respect  of  persons '  in 
Turkey.  The  Cadi's  ladies,  however,  were  extremely 
well  dressed,  according  to  Turkish  village  notions, 
and  all  except  the  mother-in-law  wore  shoes  and 
stockings.  The  dress  of  our  youthful  hostess,  which 
was  in  the  form  of  voluminous  trousers  reaching  to 
the  ankles,  and  a  very  small,  close-fitting  bodice,  was 
of  one  material — a  cotton  print,  black  with  a  spotted 
pattern  in  glaring  green,  red  and  yellow.  Upon  her 
head  was  a  tiny  wreath  of  artificial  flowers,  a  string 
of  gold  (?)  coins  and  a  scrap  of  pink  gauze  ;  and  on 
her  feet  a  pair  of  thick  white  woollen  socks.  The 
'make-up'  of  her  face  was  striking  if  not  artistic. 
Her  eyebrows  were  concealed  by  two  broad  bands  of 
black  paint,  arched  in  shape  and  meeting  above  her 
nose.  She  had  really  beautiful,  though  rather  wild, 
grey  eyes,  with  long  black  lashes  ;  but  she  had  given 
them  an  almost  ferocious  expression  by  drawing  round 
each  a  narrow  black  circle.  On  either  cheek  was  a 
patch  of  pink  powder  and  her  lips  appeared  to  be 
dropping  gore.  Her  finger-tips  and  palms  were 
stained  a  reddish  brown  with  henna. 

"The  entertainment  was  to  take  the  form  of  a 
dance.  The  Arab  woman  was  to  provide  the  music  ; 
but  when  they  told  her  to  fetch  her  tambourine,  she 
apparently  took  the  pet  for  some  reason  or  other,  and 

declared  she  had  a  headache  and  could  not  play  ;  and 

18 


274  Saturday,  May  15 

she  sat  down  on  the  floor  with  her  face  to  the  wall, 
while  her  little  daughter  clung  to  her  and  howled. 
The  other  babies  also  began  to  cry,  and  the  women 
all  talked  and  laughed  at  once,  some  of  them  chaffing 
the  Arab,  saying  she  was  going  to  die  and  calling 
ironically  to  the  others  to  make  haste  and  prepare 
the  hot  water  to  wash  her  body  and  order  her  grave 
to  be  dug.  Half-laughing,  half-angry,  she  turned  and 
slapped  those  within  reach  of  her  long  arms,  and 
finally  allowed  herself  to  be  coaxed  into  a  good 
temper  and  took  her  place  on  the  divan,  tambourine 
in  hand. 

"  The  preparations  were  not  yet  complete,  however. 
Fatma  produced  from  one  of  the  cupboards  a  bundle 
of  muslin  veils  and  kerchiefs  which  the  others  hastened 
to  pin  in  front  of  the  windows,  these  being  without 
the  usual  screen  of  lattice.  Where  the  muslins  were 
not  long  enough  to  cover  the  whole  window  cushions 
from  the  divans  were  used  to  fill  up  the  extra  space. 
This  was  all  done  as  a  precaution  against  the  possible 
curiosity  of  any  stray  member  of  the  forbidden  sex, 
who,  attracted  by  the  sounds  of  music  and  dancing, 
might  be  tempted  to  peep  in.  It  is  difficult  to  see 
how  any  one  could  have  done  so  without  the  aid  of  a 
ladder,  and  I  don't  believe  the  village  of  Dorla  pos- 
sessed a  single  specimen  of  that  harmless,  necessary 
article.  Some  more  time  was  spent  in  inducing  the 
dancers  to  begin.  They  all  appeared  to  be  suddenly 
overwhelmed  with  bashfulness,  and  had  to  be  dragged 
to  their  feet  and  thrust  into  their  places  by  their 
companions.  At  last  six  of  them  stood  ready  and  the 


A  Ladies   Dance  275 

Arab  began  to  play.  Her  tambourine  was  a  large 
one,  and  instead  of  holding  it  with  one  hand  and 
beating  it  with  the  other,  which  is,  I  think,  the  usual 
way,  she  balanced  it  on  its  edge  on  the  palms  of  her 
two  hands,  held  close  together,  and  beat  it  with  the 
fingers  of  both  hands.  To  do  this  must  have  required 
strong  wrists  and  fingers  both  long  and  strong.  I 
noticed  several  of  the  other  women  afterwards  trying 
in  vain  to  do  it.  To  the  beating  of  the  tambourine 
she  chanted  a  strange,  weird  song,  keeping  perfect 
and  very  distinctly  marked  time.  What  the  language 
was  I  do  not  know,  only  it  was  not  Turkish.  The 
women  danced  in  couples,  so  that  apparently  the 
dance  would  have  been  as  complete  with  one  couple 
as  with  six  or  with  twenty.  Each  dancer  was  pro- 
vided with  two  pairs  of  wooden  spoons,  a  pair  in  each 
hand,  the  handles  being  held  between  the  fingers,  so 
that  the  spoons  could  be  clicked  together  like  casta- 
nets. To  do  this  with  adequate  precision  and  force 
must,  like  the  playing  of  the  tambourine,  require  some 
skill  and  practice.  Those  women  did  it  so  well  and 
kept  such  excellent  time  with  the  music  that  it  greatly 
enhanced  the  effect  of  the  dance.  The  arms  were 
raised  all  the  time,  the  hands  being  sometimes  on  a 
level  with  the  head,  sometimes  flung  out  to  one  side 
or  the  other,  sometimes  stretched  wide  apart.  The 
time  was  slow  rather  than  fast.  The  step  was  short, 
rather  staccato,  and  never  varied.  The  whole  dance 
gave  one  the  impression  of  a  constant  assault  and 
repulse,  first  on  the  part  of  one  and  then  on  that  of 
the  other.  Sometimes  one  would  turn  on  one  spot 


276  Saturday,  May  15 

while  the  other  appeared  to  be  trying  to  get  behind 
her.  The  next  moment  their  position  seemed  to  be 
reversed.  Now  they  would  advance  towards  one 
another  till  they  were  clicking  the  spoons  in  each 
other's  face,  and  just  before  they  touched  would  wheel 
away  with  a  graceful  motion  and  pass  round  each 
other,  back  to  back,  reminding  one  of  the  figures  of  a 
Scotch  reel.  It  was  an  entirely  different  dance  from 
those  of  professional  dancing  women  whom  I  have 
seen  in  other  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  and  reminded  me 
rather  of  the  dances  I  have  seen  among  the  Greeks 
of  the  country.  During  the  dancing  the  spectators 
laughed  and  talked  and  criticised  and  applauded 
freely  ;  and  one  of  the  babies,  abandoned  by  its 
mother  while  she  tripped  on  the  light  fantastic  toe, 
added  its  howls  to  the  general  din,  refusing  to  be 
comforted,  although  nearly  every  one  in  turn  tried  to 
silence  it  with  hugs  or  kisses  or  lumps  of  Turkish 
Delight.  No  wonder  they  had  been  afraid  that  some 
stray  man  might  be  attracted  by  the  noise !  Fatma 
did  not  take  part  in  the  dance,  but  her  younger  sister, 
Zobeyide,  did  so,  and  was  quite  justly  acclaimed  the 
best  dancer.  We  had  not  seen  her  for  three  or  four 
years,  and  she  had  meantime  grown  from  a  small, 
sunburnt  child  into  a  tall,  slim  maiden  of  sixteen, 
with  an  extraordinarily  white  skin,  which  contrasted 
strongly  with  the  dark  faces  of  the  others.  Formerly 
she  used  to  trot  about  among  us  with  her  father  or 
the  Arab  woman  who  was  her  nurse ;  but  now  she 
only  comes  to  pay  a  formal  call  with  a  veil  on  her 
head,  when  our  men  folks  are  safely  out  of  the  way. 


Work  at  Dorla  277 


Having  bestowed  a  backsheesh  upon  the  musician — 
which  is  the  right  and  proper  thing  to  do — and 
promised  to  send  the  pattern  of  Margaret's  blouse  to 
Zobeyide,  we  made  our  adieux  and  returned  to  the 
camp." 

It  would  be  monotonous  to  give  in  full  the  diary 
of  our  stay  at  Dorla.  One  day  was  like  another. 
Some  of  us  watched  the  digging,  others  made  excur- 
sions to  inspect  neighbouring  villages,  all  of  which 
contain  ancient  stones,  interesting  or  valueless  as  the 
case  may  be.  There  is  a  fine  milestone  of  the  Em- 
peror Domitian  standing  probably  in  its  original 
position,  where  the  road  from  Iconium  to  Old  Isaura 
crosses  the  Tcharshamba  River  ;  the  bridge  and  the 
approaches  are  modern,  but  I  expect  that  the  mile- 
stone has  stood  here  through  the  interval  of  more  than 
i, 800  years,  since  it  was  first  erected  and  engraved. 

At  a  village  called  Appa,  half  a  kilometre  from 
the  milestone,  and  about  three  hours'  distant  from 
Dorla,  we  found  an  extremely  ornate  example  of  the 
I  saurian  tombstones,  which  for  the  present  are  the 
chief  object  of  our  pursuit.  It  is  not  merely  the  most 
elaborately  ornamented,  but  also  the  best  preserved 
of  the  whole.  Margaret,  whose  work  is  to  study  this 
class  of  monuments,  has  plenty  to  do. 

Several  of  the  places  where  we  found  ancient 
monuments  were  in  nooks  among  the  mountains  now 
uninhabited,  where  there  was  water  and  some  fertile 
soil.  One  of  these  was  called  Lamdar  ;  it  was  about 
three  hours  distant  from  Dorla,  though  not  far  away 
if  one  walked  straight  across  the  mountains.  There 


278  May  and  June 


was  here  a  ruined  church,  probably  of  very  early 
period,  and  a  considerable  number  of  tombstones, 
also  other  shapeless  and  unintelligible  traces  of 
human  habitation  on  quite  a  large  scale.  At  some 
future  time,  when  the  glen  of  Lamdar  is  cultivated 
and  populous,  a  good  deal  will  be  found  ;  but  at  pre- 
sent it  is  a  wilderness  of  thick  scrub,  of  which  the 
ground  would  have  to  be  cleared  before  any  proper 
examination  of  the  site  could  be  made,  and  the 
clearance  would  be  a  tedious  and  expensive  process. 

Negotiations  with  the  householder  of  Dorla 
dragged  on,  and  at  length  failed.  The  people  proved 
more  and  more  difficult  to  deal  with,  suspicious  of 
our  intentions,  and  anxious  to  keep  us  out  of  the 
village.  The  man  himself  declared  that  he  had 
merely  been  lieing  to  try  and  get  money  from  us.  It 
was  quite  extraordinary  to  observe  how  frankly  and 
unblushingly  he  professed  to  be  a  liar.  Yet  from 
some  of  the  details  which  he  mentioned,  and  which 
he  could  not  have  invented,  there  was  no  doubt  in 
our  minds  that  his  first  story  was  a  rough  statement 
of  the  truth.  People  from  the  village  came  privately 
to  assure  us  that  the  householder  with  whom  we 
were  negotiating  was  a  liar,  whose  word  could  not 
be  trusted,  and  that  he  had  merely  wanted  to  delude 
us  into  paying  for  liberty  to  dig  beside  his  house.  I 
asked  why  in  that  case  he  was  now  so  unwilling  to 
take  the  money  when  we  offered  it,  and  there  was 
no  reasonable  reply  :  he  had  changed  his  mind ;  his 
women  would  not  permit  it ;  and  so  on. 

At  the  time  I  thought  that  the  people  either  were 


Villagers  dread  Christian  Retaliation        279 

holding  out  for  a  higher  price,  or  intended  to  dig  the 
place  themselves  in  hope  of  finding  something  more 
valuable ;  but  later  events  showed  it  to  be  probable 
that  they  were  simply  afraid  of  Christians  hanging 
about  the  place.  The  vague  dread  of  reprisals,  of 
Armenian  invasion,  of  Christians  taking  possession 
of  the  country  and  ejecting  the  Moslems,  lurked  in 
their  minds,  and  could  not  be  removed,  but  only  grew 
worse  as  time  passed.  We  had  unfortunately  too 
many  Christian  servants,  as  two  of  the  waggoners^ 
were  Greeks,  though  we  had  hired  the  waggons  from 
Turkish  owners.  On  one  occasion  when  my  wife 
and  daughter  were  visiting  the  family  of  the  headman 
of  a  village,  the  woman  asked  if  it  was  true  that  the 
country  was  to  be  handed  over  to  the  son  of  the  King 
of  England. 

It  was  impossible  to  judge  how  far  this  dread  was 
a  result  of  the  Reaction  against  the  Young  Turks  and 
the  new  state  of  things  and  the  new  principles  of 
government,  and  how  far  it  was  due  to  another  cause, 
which  must  be  mentioned.  My  wife  first  called  our 
attention  to  the  large  number  of  freshly  made  graves 
in  the  villages  ;  and  on  one  occasion  our  men  showed 
great  reluctance  to  enter  a  village  four  miles  north  of 
Dorla,  saying  that  it  was  infected  with  cholera. 
We  gradually  found  that  the  country  had  recently 
been  much  troubled  by  disease  in  the  form  especially 
of  typhoid  fever,  and  that  many  deaths  had  taken 
place.  In  two  villages  we  found  people  in  the  con- 
valescent stage  of  smallpox,  and  suspected  the  disease 
in  several  other  places. 


280  May  and  June 


There  have  been  two  very  bad  harvests,  in  1907 
and  1908  ;  and  in  1907,  as  the  result  of  a  very  long 
and  severe  winter,  when  the  snow  lay  deep  on  the 
ground  until  late  in  the  spring,  disease  attacked  the 
flocks,  and  50  per  cent,  of  them  died.1  The  result  was 
to  produce  great  poverty  ;  and  apparently  there  en- 
sued a  weakening  of  the  constitution  of  the  people, 
who  fell  a  prey  to  disease.  Turkish  villages  in 
Anatolia  are  most  insanitary  ;  they  stand  each  on  a 
vast  midden,  and  apparently  the  evil  has  come  to  a 
head  recently.  That  the  water  is  impure  and  danger- 
ous generally  throughout  the  central  plateau,  I  have 
known  by  experience  since  1882,  and  we  never  drink 
it  except  in  the  form  of  tea  ;  but  this  year  even  the 
natives,  though  accustomed  to  the  stuff,  have  ceased 
to  be  immune  and  have  begun  to  suffer  from  it.  In  a 
time  of  disease  they  seem  to  be  more  suspicious  of 
strangers  ;  and  perhaps  a  vague  apprehension  existed 
in  the  villages  that  some  of  our  company  might  be 
cherishing  nefarious  designs  of  one  kind  or  another 
against  them. 

How  much  influence  should  be  assigned  to  one 
cause  and  how  much  to  the  other  I  cannot  pretend 
to  judge,  but  probably  both  operated,  and  each 

1The  statement  may  seem  exaggerated,  but  it  was  given  by 
good  authorities  as  an  average.  In  some  of  the  districts  in  which 
we  travelled  in  1908  it  was  said  that  70  per  cent,  of  the  flocks  had 
died.  How  far  there  may  have  been  exaggeration  I  cannot  say. 
On  the  one  hand  it  was  quite  patent  to  our  observation  that  the 
flocks  were  very  much  diminished ;  that  was  a  striking  fact.  On 
the  other  hand  we  saw  very  few  dead  sheep  or  goats. 


XXVII.— P.  280. 


Road  in  the  country  of  Lystra :  a  man  stands  on  the  step  to  prevent 
the  waggon  from  overturning. 

See  p.  288. 

XXVIII. 


Tcharshamba  River  (left  of  the  great  rock)  entering  the  Canon  (hole 
in  the  rocks  on  right). 

See  p.  293. 


Success  at  Dor  la  281 

helped  the  other.  It  is  certainly  a  piece  of  hard  luck 
for  the  Young  Turks  that  the  Reform  movement  in 
1908  should  have  coincided  with  such  a  serious 
scarcity  and  calamity  in  the  country  ;  and  it  now 
looks  as  if  the  long-continued  drought  is  going  to  ruin 
the  harvest  of  1909,  and  cause  a  third  year  of  poverty 
and  dearth  in  succession  to  those  of  1 907  -and  1 908. 

Finally  we  decided  to  leave  Dorla  at  the  end  of  a 
fortnight.  So  far  as  ihe  study  of  Isaurian  art  was 
concerned  the  time  was  very  profitable.  Margaret 
got  a  large  number  of  the  peculiar  class  of  ornate 
gravestones  which  are  characteristic  of  this  one  dis- 
trict, and  they  contain  many  new  motives  and  new 
kinds  of  ornamental  details.  The  artistic  execution 
of  these  stones  is  of  the  poorest  kind.  They  are  the 
work  of  village  artisans,  rude  and  untrained  ;  but  they 
are  on  that  account  all  the  more  typical  of  the  local 
Isaurian  taste.  They  show  what  was  desired  and 
purchased  by  people  who  had  no  foreign  education 
and  no  foreign  customs.  They  are  really  native  to 
the  country  and  the  people ;  and  they  give  pictures 
of  the  objects  which  the  makers  saw  before  their  eyes 
in  ordinary  life  and  in  the  churches. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  epigraphic  discovery, 
however,  which  is  the  interest  of  the  Hulme  Scholar, 
we  have  had  the  worst  luck.  There  has  as  yet  been 
found  only  one  short  inscription  of  real  interest.  It 
is  of  a  kind  almost  unexampled.  On  the  second  last 
day  of  our  stay  a  woman  brought  a  flat  stone,  in  its 
natural  condition,  shaped  like  a  flat  sort  of  plate, 
roughly  rounded,  about  eighteen  inches  in  diameter 


282  May  and  June 


and  two  to  four  inches  thick.  It  was,  perhaps,  water- 
worn,  with  smooth  upper  surface,  on  which  was 
written  : — 

They  who  were  feasting  at 

the  marriage  of  Goullos 

dedicated  Victory  to  him. 

Here  we  have  the  original  monument  engraved 
by  a  group  of  merrymakers  at  a  village  festival ;  it 
sets  before  us  a  scene  of  rustic  revelry  and  gaiety  ;  it 
shows  us  the  first  simple  stage  of  rural  literary  effort, 
out  of  which  developed,  in  various  directions,  the 
poetry  of  Theocritus,  the  Eclogues  of  Virgil  and  the 
rough  Fescennine  verses  of  Italy.  We  bought  the 
stone  and  deposited  it  in  the  Provincial  Museum  at 
Konia.  The  Hulme  Scholar  will,  I  hope,  publish  the 
text  very  soon  with  a  commentary.  It  is  probably  of 
a  late  date,  the  survival  of  an  old  custom. 

Six  miles  from  Dorla  we  made  a  second  small 
dig  near  another  village,  called  Alkaran,  at  a  deep- 
buried  building  of  good  masonry,  probably  Roman. 
The  village  and  the  fields  around  this  building  have 
produced  many  interesting  gravestones,  all  Chris- 
tian ;  and  I  had  cherished  the  hope  that  this  building, 
comparatively  early  in  character  and  surrounded 
by  Christian  gravestones,  might  prove  to  be  a  pagan 
building  transformed  into  a  church  ;  but  it  had  been 
so  completely  destroyed  that  its  character  could  not 
be  determined  without  an  extensive  excavation  at  a 
depth  of  about  eight  to  ten  feet  The  cost  of  lifting 
and  removing  such  a  mass  of  soil  was  prohibitive ; 


Disease  at  Alkaran  283 

and,  moreover,  the  prospects  of  archaeological  reward 
were  not  sufficiently  good.  The  part  of  the  building 
which  we  uncovered  was  the  original  flooring,  and 
apparently  everything  above  that  level  had  been 
carried  away  to  serve  as  building  material  in  the  sur- 
rounding villages. 

In  Alkaran  disease  had  played  havoc  recently  ; 
our  men  were  unwilling  to  live  near  it,  and  it  was 
unfair  to  ask  them  to  do  so. 

We  therefore  planned  to  make  a  progress  westwards 
along  the  line  of  the  German  irrigation  channel,  which 
may  be  taken  as  marking  the  limit  between  Isauria  on 
the  south  and  the  Pisidian  or  Lycaonian  hill  country 
on  the  north.  But  on  the  day  when  we  were  starting 
rain  began  to  fall  gently,  and  the  gathering  clouds 
looked  as  if  the  drought  were  going  to  end  in  a  great 
storm.  As  it  was  necessary  that  we  should  soon 
return  to  Konia  for  supplies  and  various  other  pur- 
poses, it  seemed  best  to  go  there  during  the  storm, 
and  start  afresh  as  soon  as  the  paths  were  dry  again. 
In  this  country,  where  no  properly  built  roads  exist, 
travelling  by  waggon  is  very  slow  and  difficult  during 
rain,  and  becomes  almost  impossible  if  heavy  rain 
lasts  for  two  or  three  days.  We  went  to  Konia  in 
one  day  by  a  different  road  from  any  that  I  had  ever 
traversed,  and  found  several  ancient  ornate  tomb- 
stones by  the  way.  It  is  very  difficult  to  exhaust  the 
archaeological  wealth  of  even  such  a  poor  region  as  the 
Konia  plain.  I  have  been  traversing  it  in  every 
direction  for  nine  successive  years,  and  now,  during 
a  rapid  run,  we  picked  up  several  interesting  things. 


284  May  and  June 


I  should  not  omit  to  mention  that  on  the  first  day 
of  our  arrival  at  Dorla,  observing  how  reactionary  the 
Kadi  was,  I  tried  to  be  diplomatic,  and  refrained  from 
hurting  his  feelings  by  speaking  of  the  new  regime, 
only  comforting  him  by  emphasising  the  fact  that  the 
new  Sultan  was  the  brother  of  the  former  one.  He 
seemed  to  derive  small  pleasure  from  this.  My  wife 
scorned  to  conceal  her  feelings,  and  expressed  very 
frankly  her  views  on  the  recent  crisis  and  her  admira- 
tion of  the  Young  Turks.  As  it  turned  out,  the  latter 
way  was  much  the  most  effective  in  dealing  with  the 
Kadi,  who  is  really  a  pathetic  old  figure,  weakened  by 
disappointment  and  the  poverty  that  threatens  him, 
though  in  the  first  excitement  of  our  coming  he  still 
showed  some  of  his  former  dignified  courtesy.  He 
has  showed  the  deepest  respect  for  her,  and  was 
always  seeking  with  furtive  glance  to  get  some  sign 
of  kindness  or  approval  from  her.  One  day  I  taxed 
him  with  his  conduct  in  keeping  to  himself  the  pound 
with  which  he  had  promised  to  propitiate  the  house- 
holder beside  our  diggings  ;  I  did  not  intend  to  reclaim 
the  money,  but  simply  wished  to  see  what  attitude  he 
would  take ;  he  looked  towards  her  with  a  sort  of 
sheepish  smile  ;  and  then,  observing  her  disapproval, 
turned  away  with  a  deeply  humiliated  look. 

We  spent  two  days  in  Konia,  where  it  was  neces- 
sary to  make  some  arrangements  with  the  Minister  of 
Public  Instruction  about  facilities  for  sending  to  the 
museum  some  interesting  monuments.  In  conversa- 
tion I  chanced  to  mention  the  unhealthy  condition  of 
Alkaran.  Next  forenoon  he  called  at  the  hotel,  bring- 


A    Turkish  Sanitary  Inspector  285 

ing  with  him  another  official  whom  he  introduced  as 
the  Sanitary  Inspector  of  the  Province.  This  official 
produced  a  number  of  documents,  partly  in  print, 
partly  in  writing;  he  showed  that  the  condition  of 
Alkaran  had  been  reported  to  him,  with  the  number 
of  deaths  that  had  occurred  and  the  causes  (which  were 
in  almost  every  case  typhoid  fever),  and  stated  that 
the  outbreak  of  disease  had  been  receiving  his  par- 
ticular attention.  As  the  papers  were,  of  course,  all 
in  Turkish,  which  I  cannot  read  but  only  know  by 
ear,  I  contented  myself  with  a  very  cursory  glance 
at  them,  and  took  all  that  he  said  on  credit.  Both 
officials  were  very  desirous  of  proving  that  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Konia  Province  was  conducted 
in  the  most  up-to-date  style,  so  I  congratulated 
them  on  their  care  and  vigilance,  and  said  that  I 
would  be  sure  to  publish  this  evidence  of  their  watch- 
fulness. 

The  Minister  of  Instruction  also  carried  me  off  with 
him  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  University,  of  whose  exist- 
ence I  had  not  previously  been  aware.  It  is  a  law 
school.  He  introduced  me  to  four  of  the  professors, 
who  were  all  very  polite,  and  in  general  progressive 
and  enlightened  in  their  views,  and  eager  to  show 
that  they  would  gladly  have  a  school  of  historical 
study  as  well  as  of  pure  law.  One  spoke  only 
Turkish  ;  the  others  knew  also  some  French. 

The  following  day  we  started  for  the  mountain 
region  towards  the  south-west,  as  the  rain  proved 
very  slight  and  the  dry  weather  had  set  in  once  more, 
to  the  great  sorrow  of  the  whole  country.  One  of 


286  May  and  June 


our  gendarmes  could  not  go  with  us  ;  he  had  sent 
out  his  horse  to  grass,  not  expecting  to  start  so  early. 
The  big  Albanian  officer  sent  for  another,  who  ap- 
peared after  half  an  hour.  He  was  the  smallest, 
oldest  and  feeblest  of  all  gendarmes  that  I  have 
ever  seen,  and  we  expected  every  day  that  he  would 
collapse  from  fatigue  and  old  age,  but  he  kept  us  com- 
pany through  four  weeks  of  constant  travel.  He 
found  it  difficult  to  keep  up  with  us,  and  on  the 
march  was  frequently  some  miles  behind.  Once  we 
lost  him  entirely  for  four  or  five  days,  but  he  always 
plodded  on  slowly  in  the  rear,  and  caught  us  up 
when  we  halted  long  enough.  These  gendarmes 
usually  carry  some  little  baggage  with  them,  an  over- 
coat strapped  behind  them  and  a  pair  of  saddle-bags  ; l 
but  old  Omar,  frailest  of  them  all,  who  looked  as  if  a 
breeze  would  sweep  him  away  like  a  leaf,  had  ab- 
solutely nothing  except  his  clothes,  his  gun,  his  horse 
and  his  saddle.  He  had  not  even  any  ammunition, 
but  a  gendarme's  gun  is  intended  more  for  ornament 
than  use.  Omar  was  a  purely  comic  figure,  except 
in  so  far  as  he  was  pathetic.  He  never  did  anything 
nor  made  himself  of  the  slightest  use  to  any  one,  but 
rode  patiently  on  in  the  rearguard,  except  on  one 

1  So  long  as  there  is  no  rain,  one  can  get  on  very  well  with  such 
light  equipment.  I  have  often  travelled,  in  one  case  for  nine 
days  continuously,  with  nothing  more  than  a  waterproof  and  what 
could  be  put  into  my  saddle-bags  or  carried  on  my  person  ;  and 
all  my  companions  were  in  the  same  condition.  When  it  rains, 
or  when  there  is  only  bare  rock  to  lie  on,  the  situation  is  unsatis- 
factory. 


Fear  of  an  Armenian  Invasion  287 

occasion  when  he  actually  bestirred  himself  to  pluck  a 
fowl  for  our  nightly  meal  of  rice-soup.  The  Hulme 
Scholar  snapped  him  in  the  act,  and  the  result  appears 
in  Plate  XXIV.,  p.  264. 

Keeping  Lystra  on  our  right  hand,  we  entered  the 
hills,  and  visited  a  village  which  I  had  never  seen 
before.  There  were  some  stones  of  the  early  Byz- 
antine time,  of  which  my  daughter  had  to  make 
drawings.  A  sickly  miasma  seemed  to  pervade  the 
place  ;  and  we  gradually  became  aware  that  there 
were  in  it  a  good  many  persons  ill  of  the  small-pox 
or  barely  recovered  and  showing  scabs  dotted  over 
their  faces  and  hands,  a  sickening  sight  and  a  sicken- 
ing odour.  The  Turks  seem  rarely  to  lie  down  except 
to  sleep  or  to  die ;  one  finds  people  in  the  last  stage 
of  consumption  tottering  about  feebly,  trying  to  per- 
form the  ordinary  light  routine  of  life. 

In  this  village,  only  four  hours  south  of  Konia,  we 
first  became  aware  of  a  curious  incident,  which  was 
the  chief  topic  of  conversation  wherever  we  went  for 
the  next  week.  My  wife  had  already  heard  the 
women  in  some  villages  express  their  fear  of  an  Ar- 
menian invasion.  Here  everybody  was  in  terror. 
Two  men  had  passed  through  the  village  that  morn- 
ing, and  had  announced  that  a  large  army  of  Armen- 
ians had  invaded  the  district  now  called  Boz  Kir 
(the  northern  part  of  the  Isaurian  country),  and  were 
sacking  the  villages  successively.  In  this  village  the 
people  were  preparing  to  take  refuge  in  recesses  of 
the  hills.  We  comforted  them  by  the  assurance  that 
there  was  no  danger ;  but,  considering  the  hideously 


288  May  and  June 


insanitary  condition  of  the  village,  I  doubt  if  we  did 
them  true  service.  It  would  have  been  much  better 
for  them  to  desert  the  village  for  a  time,  take  to  the 
hills,  and  leave  the  sun  and  wind  to  purify  the  atmos- 
phere round  the  houses. 

Making  a  circuit  round  Lystra  at  the  distance  of 
two  to  three  hours,  we  turned  gradually  from  south 
to  west,  and  made  our  way  slowly  across  the  moun- 
tains towards  the  country  of  the  two  great  lakes. 
The  waggoners  were  very  unwilling  to  go  this  way  ; 
but,  as  the  German  Inspector  of  the  Irrigation  Works 
had  assured  us  that  there  was  a  road  practicable  for 
waggons,  we  insisted,  and  were  rewarded  by  having 
to  walk  a  considerable  part  of  the  way.  Towards 
the  end,  we  took  great  part  of  two  days  to  traverse  a 
distance  which  was  variously  estimated  by  the  villagers 
as  six  or  seven  hours.  We  found  no  road,  but  only 
tracks.  Wherever  the  rocks  were  particularly  bad,  the 
tracks  ceased ;  we  had  to  push  the  waggons  one  by 
one  up  steep  slopes,  harnessing  two  pairs  of  horses  to 
each  in  succession  and  ourselves  pushing  behind.  We 
wandered  through  groves  of  scrub,  where  the  track 
often  suddenly  ended  at  the  edge  of  a  precipitous 
ravine,  and  we  had  to  hark  back  and  try  a  different 
way. 

At  last,  however,  we  came  in  sight  of  the  southern 
lake,  the  ancient  Trogitis,  now  called  Soghla  Geul, 
far  below  us  in  a  level  fertile  valley,  backed  by  lofty 
mountains  on  the  south,  and  by  lower  mountains  on 
the  west  and  (where  we  were)  on  the  east,  but  having 
on  the  north  undulating  country  to  divide  it  from  the 


XXIX.— P.  288. 


XXX. 


Two  of  the  Thousand  and  One  Churches,  No.  6  and  No.  9  : 
with  interior  of  dome  of  No.  9. 


3°5- 


The  German  Irrigation  Scheme  289 

northern  lake,  Karalis,  now  called  Bey-Sheher  Geul. 
By  a  long  steep  descent  along  a  well-planned  road 
we  came  down  to  the  plain  and  the  lake,  close  to  the 
village  of  Kara  Viran,  which  is  the  second  station  of 
the  irrigation  works.  The  first  station  is  at  Bey- 
Sheher,  at  the  south-eastern  end  of  the  northern  lake, 
which  is  the  largest  in  Asia  Minor.1  Here  a  river, 
called  simply  the  Irmak  (river)  by  the  Turks,  flows 
out  of  the  lake,  and  carries  its  surplus  water  into  lake 
Trogitis.  In  ancient  times  the  water  of  Trogitis 
flowed  through  a  great  canon  to  join  the  Tcharshamba 
River.  The  new  irrigation  channel  must  take  the 
same  way  through  the  mountains  ;  and  one  of  our 
objects  was  to  see  the  relation  of  the  ancient  to  the 
modern  course.  Strabo,  p.  569,  describes  this  valley 
from  hearsay. 

The  German  project  is  to  eliminate  the  lower  lake 
entirely,  or  nearly  so.  The  Irmak  is  to  be  used  for 
some  miles  after  it  leaves  the  upper  lake  ;  but  before 
the  water  enters  the  lower  lake  it  is  to  be  barred  by 
a  great  dam,  diverted  into  an  artificial  channel  and 
carried  past  Kara  Viran  and  through  the  mountains 
into  Tcharshamba  River.  Then  the  lower  lake  is  to 
be  drained,  and  the  whole  of  this  wonderfully  fertile 
valley  will  be  available  for  agriculture.  The  scheme 
is  bold  and  magnificent ;  but  even  if  it  is  successfully 
carried  through  the  preliminary  stage,  the  works  will 

1  The  great  Salt  Lake  (Tatta  of  the  ancients)  covers  at  high 
water  probably  a  larger  area,  but  it  is  very  shallow,  varies  much  in 
extent,  and  contains  a  much  smaller  body  of  water  than  Karalis, 
which  is  fresh. 

19 


290  May  and  June 


always  require  to  be  carefully  watched  and  maintained 
in  good  order.  The  German  Railway  Company  is 
merely  the  contractor,  and  binds  itself  to  deliver  the 
finished  works  to  the  Turkish  Government,  taking  no 
further  responsibility.  Assuming  that  the  delivery 
takes  place  all  right  after  four  years,  which  is  the 
calculated  date  for  completion,  will  the  Turkish 
officials  show  that  care  which  is  necessary  to  keep  in 
good  order  200  kilometres  of  channel  and  all  the  nu- 
merous constructions  for  regulating  the  flow  and  the 
distribution  of  the  water?  In  all  past  history  the 
Turks  have  lacked  the  talent  to  watch  over  and  main- 
tain the  complicated  machinery  of  civilisation.  One 
of  the  many  difficulties  which  await  the  Young  Turks 
is  to  create  a  body  of  officials  fit  to  manage  the 
apparatus  of  such  enterprises  as  this  irrigation  work. 
There  is  to  be  a  barrage  at  Bey-Sheher,  to  regulate 
the  outflow  of  the  water  from  the  lake  into  the  Irmak  ; 
a  second  barrage  where  the  water  is  taken  off  from 
the  Irmak,  and  elaborate  distributing  works  at 
Tchumra  in  the  plain  of  Konia ;  these  will  require 
constant  attention.  Then  the  flow  of  the  Irmak,  of 
the  long  artificial  canal  and  of  the  Tcharshamba  River, 
will  all  need  supervision.  The  last  is  liable  to  inun- 
dations, which  will  cause  some  difficulty  ;  but  the 
Irmak  and  the  canal  will  have  an  equable  flow. 
Many  other  problems  of  maintenance  will  present 
themselves,  which  need  not  be  mentioned  in  detail ; 
those  which  have  been  described  are  sufficient  to 
show  that  a  big  task  awaits  the  Government  when  it 
takes  over  the  irrigation  work  from  the  contractors. 


The  German  Irrigation  Scheme  291 

The  elimination  of  the  Soghla  Geul  may  prove  a 
difficult  task,  even  after  the  lower  barrage  is  com- 
pleted and  the  water  of  the  Irmak  has  ceased  to  flow 
into  the  lake.  I  cannot  believe  that  a  lake  of  such 
size  is  produced  only  by  the  Irmak.  There  must  be 
great  springs  under  its  bosom.  The  upper  lake, 
which  is  much  larger,  is  made  by  such  springs  ;  no 
river  flows  into  it,  but  merely  short  water-courses, 
carrying  water  only  after  rain,  and  dry  throughout  the 
rest  of  the  year.  The  lower  lake  will  be  much 
diminished  by  the  diversion  of  the  Irmak  ;  but  the 
fountains  which  (as  is  probable)  also  maintain  it  will 
still  have  to  be  reckoned  with.  The  lake  literally 
rests  against  the  mountain  wall  of  Taurus,  and  there 
are  holes  beneath  the  mountains  through  which  the 
water  runs  off.  The  level  of  the  lake  varies  greatly 
from  year  to  year  ;  and  the  explanation  has  been 
that  it  rises  when  the  underground  passages  become 
blocked,  and  sinks  when  they  are  open.  Such 
passages  through  the  mountains  that  rim  the  plateau 
are  well  known  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  and  are 
called  Duden  by  the  Turks ;  the  ancient  Greeks 
called  them  Katabothra.  In  some  places  they  are 
visible  from  points  high  above  the  water,  when  the 
light  falls  favourably  on  the  surface.  So  we  have  seen 
them,  for  example,  at  the  lake  of  the  famous  Flute- 
Fountain,  Aulokrene,  the  ultimate  source  of  the 
Marsyas  and  the  Maeander. 

The  fountains  in  the  Soghla  Geul  may  be  trans- 
formed by  the  German  engineers  into  streams  flow- 
ing to  the  Dudens,  lending  variety  and  beauty  to  a 


29 2  May  and  June 


great  fertile  plain  embosomed  among  the  Taurus  and 
the  Pisidian  mountains.  Many  valleys  among  the 
mountains  of  Asia  Minor,  Greece  and  Italy  were  in 
ancient  time  won  for  agriculture  by  draining  the 
lakes  that  originally  lay  within  them,  e.g.,  the  vale  of 
Reate  in  Italy  and  of  Stymphalos  in  Arcadia  ;  but 
the  draining  of  the  valley  of  Kara  Viran  will  be  a 
work  on  a  vastly  greater  scale,  which  I  hope  that  I 
may  live  to  see  carried  to  a  successful  issue. 

Passing  over  the  archaeological  work  of  the  next 
few  days,  I  shall  mention  only  what  we  saw  of  the 
German  works  and  the  Armenian  panic. 

A  few  miles  south  of  Kara  Viran  the  lake  stretches 
out  a  long  arm  towards  the  east.  As  we  advanced 
along  its  northern  edge  this  arm  narrowed,  until  at 
last  it  became  a  mere  stagnant  canal  crossed  by  a 
Turkish  stone  bridge.  The  story  is  current  among 
the  natives  that  this  bridge  stands  on  the  top  of 
another  older  bridge,  now  concealed  under  the  soil 
and  the  mud.  Below  this  the  arm  of  the  lake  is 
little  more  than  a  marsh  full  of  large  greenish-brown 
frogs,  but  the  marsh  extends  several  miles  farther  to 
the  east,  with  the  mountains  gradually  closing  in  on 
both  sides,  until  they  meet  and  apparently  bar  the 
way.  But  through  them  nature  has  cleft  a  narrow 
canon,  100  yards  in  breadth,  with  sides  mostly  quite 
perpendicular  and  about  300  to  500  feet  high.  Some- 
times a  narrow  track  zig-zags  up  one  side  or  the 
other,  leading  to  a  village  in  the  mountains. 

Along  this  canon  the  water  of  the  lake  once  flowed 
into  the  Tcharshamba  River  and  the  Konia  plain. 


The  German  Irrigation  Scheme  293 

Now  the  soil  has  choked  the  old  channel,  but  it  will 
be  a  simple  though  tedious  work  to  excavate  the 
channel  afresh  and  conduct  the  water  of  the  Irmak 
past  Kara  Viran  down  the  canon  (called  by  the  Turks 
the  Boghaz).  That  is  the  problem  which  lies  before 
the  German  engineers  in  this  part  of  their  task  ;  and 
they  had  700  men,  with  a  machine  whose  working 
power  was  equivalent  to  that  of  1,000  men,  engaged 
in  digging  the  new  channel.  When  the  channel  was 
open  in  the  Roman  and  Byzantine  time  it  was  cer- 
tainly necessary  to  keep  it  clear  by  artificial  means, 
for  natural  forces  are  steadily  disintegrating  the  rocks, 
pouring  down  fresh  soil  into  the  narrow  cafion,  and 
filling  up  the  water-channel  with  soft  loose  earth. 

About  sixteen  or  seventeen  kilometres  down  the 
canon  we  reached  a  point  where  the  Tcharshamba 
River  pours  into  it  through  a  similar  canon  that  came 
down  from  the  south.  The  view  here  is  very  grand 
(Plate  XXVIII.)  :  the  cold  water  of  the  stream 
sounded  and  felt  very  refreshing  after  the  long  drive 
through  the  narrow  gorge.  We  camped  beside  the 
river.  The  rock  walls,  which  were  heated  by  the 
burning  sun  of  the  day,  radiated  their  heat  into  the 
gorge  through  the  night ;  and  the  hour  before  sunrise 
(which  is  usually  a  very  cold  time  on  the  plateau, 
outside  of  a  city)  was  as  hot  as  any  other  part  of 
the  twenty-four  hours. 

About  half-way  between  the  entrance  of  the  Boghaz 
and  the  Tcharshamba  River  we  came  to  the  third 
German  station  on  the  irrigation  works,  and  crowds 
of  men  with  the  great  machine  were  at  work  here 


2  94  May  and  June 


along  a  stretch  of  a  mile  or  two.  I  have  spoken  of 
the  engineers  always  as  the  Germans,  because  the 
enterprise  is  undertaken  by  the  Anatolian  Railway 
Company,  which  is  practically  German.  But,  as  re- 
gards nationality,  there  was  hardly  a  German  in  the 
whole  lot  that  we  saw.  No  one  can  accuse  the 
Railway  Company  of  introducing  a  German  popula- 
tion into  Turkey.  We  heard  of  a  patriotic  German 
who  came  out  to  see  the  great  national  institution, 
and  returned  home  filled  with  indignation  because 
along  the  German  Railway  he  found  almost  every 
nationality  represented  in  greater  numbers  than  the 
German.  So  far  as  this  point  of  view  is  concerned 
the  company  is  fully  justified  in  its  plea  that  it  has 
never  sought  to  introduce  German  settlers  into  Turkey. 
On  the  irrigation  works  we  saw  among  the  overseers 
and  educated  officials  Swiss  (who  often  approximate 
closely  to  Germans),  Italians,  Levantine  or  Constanti- 
nopolitan  Christians  (one  at  least  being  Armenian), 
but  extremely  few  Germans.  Abc:it  three  or  four 
years  ago,  before  the  irrigation  works  were  begun, 
the  German  Ambassador  visited  Konia.  Among 
other  matters  of  business  he  had  in  mind  the  founda- 
tion of  a  German  school  in  Konia,  which  should  keep 
the  German  children  in  the  right  path  and  at  the  same 
time  attract  others  to  walk  in  the  same  path.  Doubt- 
less, he  knew  what  a  powerful  effect  has  been  pro- 
duced in  Turkey  by  the  American  schools,  and  what 
influence  is  exerted  even  by  the  few  Catholic  schools. 
Those  schools,  however,  are  maintained  by  mission- 
aries, and  have  therefore  a  solid  basis  to  rest  upon. 


German  Ambassador's   Visit  295 

In  order  to  be  successful,  a  school  started  by  am- 
bassadorial initiative  must  be  based  on  the  needs  of 
German  children,  and  not  merely  on  the  unstable 
foundation  of  political  purpose.  There  were  in  Konia, 
so  important  as  the  terminus  of  the  Anatolian  Railway 
and  the  beginning  of  the  Bagdad  Railway,  only  two 
German  families,  one  consisting  of  a  single  child 
less  than  a  year  old,  the  other  only  slightly  larger. 
I  should  like  to  see  more  Germans  in  Konia. 

By  the  way,  it  illustrates  the  situation  under  the 
old  regime  that  Konia  was  specially  decorated  in 
honour  of  the  Ambassador's  arrival ;  and  the  decora- 
tion consisted  in  whitewashing  the  mud-brick  walls 
that  lined  the  way  from  the  station  into  the  city.1  A 
fortnight  after  his  visit,  when  we  went  to  Konia,  some 
scanty  traces  of  the  whitewash  still  remaining  on  the 
walls  attracted  our  attention,  and  on  inquiry  we 
learned  what  was  the  reason  for  the  unwonted  show. 

At  Kara  Viran,  and  then  at  the  station  in  the 
Boghaz,  and  finally  in  Konia,  we  heard  further  details 
about  the  reported  Armenian  invasion  of  the  Boz-Kir 
region,  which  lies  on  the  south  side  of  the  gorge. 
Accounts  varied  a  good  deal ;  but  the  truth,  as  far  as 
we  could  find,  seemed  to  be  that  a  quarrel  arose 
between  some  gipsies  (who  are  found  in  small 
numbers  all  over  Asia  Minor)  and  the  inhabitants  of 
one  of  the  Boz-Kir  villages,  and  one  Turk  was  injured 
or  killed.  Then  an  alarm  was  spread  through  the 
villages  of  the  region ;  and,  owing  to  the  causes 
already  stated,  it  took  the  form  that  20,000  Armenians 

1  This  road  is  now  much  improved ;  good  houses  are  being 
built,  and  the  mud  walls  occupy  less  space  than  they  did  formerly. 


296  May  and  June 


were  coming  to  massacre  the  Moslems.  The  work- 
men in  the  Boghaz  are  Turks,  chiefly  from  Boz- 
Kir  ;  and,  when  the  news  was  brought  to  them  by 
messengers  from  their  homes,  they  went  off  hastily 
in  a  body  to  defend  their  families,  taking  with  them 
as  weapons  their  spades  and  other  implements  of 
labour.  The  telegraph  flashed  the  news  to  Konia, 
mounted  gendarmes  were  hastily  sent,  gradually  the 
panic  was  allayed  and  the  workmen  returned. 

The  lower  part  of  the  Boghaz,  below  the  point 
where  the  Tcharshamba  River  enters  it,  is  about 
twenty  kilometres  long  ;  but  the  scenery  grows  more 
open  and  quiet  as  we  descend,  and  at  last  the  hills 
on  both  sides  open  out  The  total  length  of  the 
gorge  is  therefore  about  thirty-six  kilometres.  This 
natural  phenomenon  is  so  remarkable  that  we  may 
confidently  say  that  the  ancients  must  have  regarded 
it  as  a  manifestation  of  the  action  and  power  of  the 
gods,  and  we  might  hope  to  find  in  it  or  above  it 
some  evidence  of  this  belief.  Near  the  lower  end 
there  are  a  few  small  reliefs  of  the  Roman  period  on 
the  rocks  of  the  northern  side,  but  all  are  sepulchral 
and  devoid  of  interest  or  artistic  merit.  At  the  upper 
end,  in  the  rocky  amphitheatre,  out  of  which  the 
Boghaz  leads,  there  is  a  village,  Balyklagho,1  on  the 
northern  hills.  In  it  are  various  sepulchral  reliefs  and 
inscriptions  built  into  the  walls  of  the  houses,  and 
along  with  them  a  religious  inscription,  which  offers 

1  The  name,  which  means  "  Fish-pond,"  is  the  same  word  as 
that  which  has  become  famous  in  British  history  under  the  misspelt 
form  Balaclava  in  the  Crimea. 


Zeus  and  Hermes  at  Lystra  297 

many  remarkable  and  interesting  features.  The  in- 
scribed stone  supported  a  sun-dial,  of  which  the 
gnomon  was  a  statue  of  Hermes  ;  the  god  cast  the 
shadow  which  indicated  the  will  of  the  supreme  God 
and  the  hour  of  light. 

Toues  Makrei- 
nos,  who  is  also 
called  Abaskan- 
tos,  and  Bata- 
sis,  son  of  Bretasis, 
dedicated  (a  statue  of) 
Hermes  the  Greatest, 
have  established  it 
in  accordance  with  a  vow 
along  with  a  clock, 
at  their  own  expense, 
to  Zeus  the  Sun. 

We  notice  here  the  association  of  Zeus  and  Hermes. 
Not  far  from  Balyklagho  is  the  city  and  Roman  colony 
Lystra  (whose  territory  probably  extended  as  far  south 
as  the  Boghaz,  and  may  have  included  Balyklagho). 
At  Lystra  Barnabas  and  Paul  were  worshipped  by 
the  Lycaonian  natives  as  Zeus  and  Hermes,  who  had 
come  down  in  the  form  of  men  to  show  their  bene- 
ficent power  on  earth.  It  was  the  same  gods  whose 
beneficent  power  was  recognised  in  the  wonderful 
gorge,  which  conducted  the  waters  of  the  lake  to 
fertilise  the  plain  of  Konia.  The  river  as  it  flowed 
through  the  Konia  plain  was  called  by  the  Arabs  in 
the  ninth  century  after  Christ,  "  the  river  of  under- 
ground waters  ".  People  with  names  like  Toues  and 
Batasis  certainly  used  "  the  speech  of  the  natives  ". 


298  May  and  June 


The  clock  which  was  presented  along  with  the 
statue  of  Hermes  was,  undoubtedly,  a  sun-dial,  and 
its  dedication  to  Zeus  the  Sun-god  was  appropriate. 

This  really  noteworthy  stone  had  been  placed  in 
position  by  the  masons  only  on  the  previous  day. 
If  we  had  carried  out  our  original  plan  of  coming  to 
this  district  direct  from  Dorla,  we  should  have  reached 
Balyklagho  ten  days  earlier,  and  should  have  missed 
the  most  interesting  document  that  we  found  on  the 
whole  journey  (which  proved  exceptionally  unproduc- 
tive in  respect  of  inscriptions  ;  our  gain  was  mainly  in 
I  saurian  and  Roman  art,  not  in  epigraphy). 

Every  new  house  is  consecrated  in  Turkey,  among 
both  Turks  and  Greeks,  by  a  sacrifice,  and  the  blood 
of  the  slain  animal  must  pour  over  the  building.  As 
soon  as  this  stone  was  put  in  place  an  animal  was 
slain,  and  the  blood  allowed  to  trickle  over  the  stone. 
As  the  people  were  poor,  possibly  it  was  only  a 
humble  fowl  that  was  slain,  and  the  blood  had  flowed 
in  thin  streams  across  the  surface.  Richer  people 
would  slay  one  or  more  sheep. 

The  day  was  broiling  hot.  The  amphitheatre  of 
hills  on  which  Balyklagho  is  perched  high  up  had 
been  exposed  from  dawn  to  the  glaring  sun,  till 
everything  seemed  red-hot.  The  walk  up  the  steep 
hillside  from  the  marsh  where  we  had  stopped  to  eat 
lunch  was  very  tiring,  at  least  to  me ;  and  when  I 
had  to  look  closely  at  this  stone,  scrutinising  letter 
after  letter  with  the  blood  obscuring  some  and  leaving 
others  free,  nausea  almost  overpowered  me.  In  an 
old  house  within  a  narrow  court,  surrounded  by  a  high 


Unhealthy  State  of  Village  299 

hedge  made  of  cut  thorn  branches,  there  was  a  quaint 
sepulchral  relief  built  into  the  outer  front  wall.  My 
daughter  had  to  stand  for  a  long  time  in  the  small 
court  with  her  back  against  the  hedge,  making  a 
drawing  of  the  stone.  Owing  to  the  conditions  it 
was  not  possible  to  take  a  photograph  of  the  stone, 
which  would  have  been  far  quicker.  A  sickly  odour, 
as  of  some  disease,  filled  the  courtyard  ;  and  in  our 
tired  condition,  almost  overcome  by  the  burning  heat, 
we  were  (as  I  suppose)  less  able  to  resist  the  noxious 
influence.  My  wife  went  out  of  the  place ;  but  my 
daughter  and  I  remained  till  she  had  finished  her 
drawing. 

From  this  moment  onwards  we  both  felt  the 
effects  very  seriously ;  she  especially  was  fit  for  little 
throughout  the  rest  of  the  journey,  though  she  would 
not  consent  to  interrupt  her  work  and  return  to  Konia 
for  rest  and  medical  treatment ;  but  it  might  have 
been  wiser  to  do  so.  It  was  not  till  six  weeks  later 
that  we  found  she  had  been  suffering  all  the  time 
from  blood-poisoning,  both  septic  and  malarial ;  and 
the  specialist  in  London  whom  she  had  to  consult 
immediately  after  her  return  said  that  the  septic 
poisoning  had  in  his  opinion  come  through  the  sense 
of  smell,  and  that,  if  she  had  not  possessed  an  excep- 
tionally healthy  constitution,  she  would  have  had  a 
serious  breakdown. 

The  intention  had  been  to  stop  at  Balyklagho.  We 
were  all  (except  perhaps  the  Hulme  Scholar)  pretty 
worn  out  after  several  long  and  fatiguing  days  ;  and 
in  the  morning,  when  we  had  started  from  our  pre- 


300  May  and  June 


vious  camp  at  a  village  called  Ak-Kilisse  (White 
Church),  the  baggage  had  been  sent  with  orders  to 
make  everything  ready  for  a  night  at  Balyklagho. 
But  it  was  evident  that  the  mosquitoes  would  be  very 
bad  down  in  the  marshy  glen,  and  it  was  quite 
impossible  to  take  the  waggons  up  the  steep  hills,  so 
we  resolved  to  forego  the  contemplated  rest,  and 
drive  on  through  the  gorge,  in  hope  of  finding  a  good 
camping-ground  somewhere  in  it. 

As  has  been  described  already,  the  gorge  proved 
to  be  even  hotter,  if  possible,  than  Balyklagho  ;  and 
these  two  days  will  always  remain  in  my  memory  as 
among  the  most  fatiguing  and  yet  the  most  interesting 
of  all  our  wanderings  in  Anatolia.  Any  one  who  is 
led  by  fortune  to  Konia  ought  to  drive  through  this 
gorge  to  the  lake  of  Kara  Viran.  If  he  goes  by  the 
gorge  both  ways  the  whole  can  be  done  in  five  days ; 
and  if  he  takes  six,  he  can  throw  into  the  bargain  also 
the  sites  of  Derbe  and  Lystra. 

The  disease  which  has  been  rife  in  the  country 
spread  after  our  departure.  The  small -pox,  whose 
effects  we  had  observed  in  several  villages,  swept 
across  the  country  westward  as  far  as  Smyrna  and 
the  sea.  Fortunately,  most  of  the  people  have  been 
vaccinated  at  some  period  of  their  life,  and  the  dis- 
ease did  not  become  a  devastating  plague.  Typhoid 
also  spread,  and  the  Hulme  Scholar  had  a  bad  attack, 
which  interrupted  his  work  and  expelled  him  from 
the  country. 

After  leaving  the  gorge  and  the  hill-country  around 
it,  where  almost  every  village  contains  monuments 


The  Black  Mountain  301 

of  the  quaint  Isaurian  art  (as  in  Plate  XVIII.),  we 
crossed  the  plain  of  Konia  and  spent  five  days  around 
and  in  the  Kara  Dagh  ("  Black  Mountain  "),  an  island 
of  volcanic  rock  thrown  up  through  the  perfectly 
horizontal  limestone  strata  of  the  Lycaonian  plain. 
The  mountain  is  about  thirty  miles  in  circumference, 
and  in  its  highest  peak  reaches  a  height  of  about 
7,000  feet  above  sea-level.  The  level  plain  around  is 
more  than  3,000  feet  above  the  sea.  This  plain  was 
in  an  earlier  geological  period  a  great  lake  (as  one 
of  the  Directors  of  the  German  irrigation  works  in- 
formed me) ;  and  there  are  still  a  number  of  small 
lakes  and  marshes  in  it,  the  chief  of  which  are  on 
the  north-western  and  the  south-eastern  sides  of  the 
Black  Mountain.  Into  the  plain  there  flowed  in  re- 
cent historical  time  a  number  of  streams  from  the  sur- 
rounding mountains  (as  the  same  Director  informed 
me).  These  are  all  now  dry  ;  but  in  the  Roman 
period  they  made  the  Konia  plain  extremely  fertile 
and  rich,  for  the  soil  is  so  good  that  only  water  is 
needed  to  transform  it  into  a  garden  under  the  hands 
of  even  the  rude  native  agriculturists. 

A  fact  like  this  implies  that  the  country  is  now 
much  drier  than  it  was  formerly  ;  and  this  is  con- 
firmed by  a  little  detail  mentioned  in  the  diary  of  one 
of  the  soldiers  who  marched  in  the  crusade  led  by  the 
German  Kaiser  Frederick  Barbarossa  in  A.D.  1175. 
After  defeating  the  Seljuk  Turks  in  a  great  battle,  and 
occupying  for  a  few  days  their  capital,  Konia,  Bar- 
barossa marched  onwards  towards  the  Holy  Land, 
and  on  the  second  evening  he  camped  at  a  place 


302  May  and  June 


called  Forty  Fountains.  There  is  now  only  one  foun- 
tain in  the  whole  plain.  On  the  third  day  he  crossed 
the  Tcharshamba  River,  so  that  the  situation  of  the 
Forty  Fountains l  is  approximately  determined,  as  not 
very  far  from  the  modern  villages  Ali  Bey  Eyuk  and 
Tchumra.  There  are  here  ponds  of  considerable 
size  ;  it  is  probable  that  such  a  pond  implies  one  or 
more  springs,  and  that  formerly  those  springs  were 
utilised  and  the  water  conducted  away  from  the 
sources  for  the  supply  of  the  country,  whereas  now 
they  form  dirty  pools  of  stagnant  useless  water.  One 
finds  many  ancient  constructions  for  storing  or  carry- 
ing water  in  the  Lycaonian  plain.  Most  of  these  are 
now  ruined  more  or  less  completely ;  one,  the  largest 
of  all,  is  still  perfect,  but  none  hold  or  convey  any  water. 
These  examples  prove  two  things  :  (i)  that  there 
was  more  water  available  in  ancient  times  ;  (2)  that 
far  more  use  was  made  of  the  water  by  carefully 
constructed  engineering  works,  which  were  some- 
times on  a  large  scale.  In  modern  times  such  water 
as  falls  in  the  rainy  season  on  a  mountain  like  the 
Kara  Dagh  (and  a  great  deal  does  fall  as  rain  or  as 
snow  every  winter  and  spring)  runs  rapidly  off  the 
bare,  smooth  slopes,  stagnates  in  pools  or  marshes 
and  evaporates  under  the  sun's  rays,  never  doing 
much  service  to  the  country  and  sometimes  working 
serious  harm. 

1  No  stress  can  be  laid  on  the  exact  number ;  "  forty  "  merely 
implies  a  large  number.  In  the  usage  of  the  present  day  there 
are  four  numbers  used  in  a  similar  way  to  describe  a  moderate  or 
a  great  multitude :  3,  7,  40,  and  1,001. 


English  and  German  Enterprises  303 

There  is  also  clear  evidence  that  the  Black  Moun- 
tain was  formerly  covered  with  orchards  and  vine- 
yards ;  and  these,  by  means  of  their  roots,  would 
hold  the  water  and  keep  the  ground  moist.  Still  one 
finds  in  the  Black  Mountain  a  few  fruit  trees  of  very 
various  kinds,  apples,  pears,  plums,  apricots,  etc.,  as 
well  as  some  wretched  vineyards  ;  but  the  trees  are 
now  wild,  growing  naturally  and  uncared  for,  and 
producing  only  a  little  fruit  of  a  very  poor  kind. 

The  country  with  its  rich  soil  is  still  there.  The 
water  in  smaller  quantity  is  there,  but  undistributed 
and  useless.  If  it  were  distributed  by  irrigation,  and 
used  with  wisdom,  the  available  quantity  would  in- 
crease steadily  after  a  few  years,  and  the  lost  agri- 
cultural tradition  would  be  recreated.  Hence  every 
one  who  is  interested  in  the  country  must  wish  suc- 
cess to  the  German  Irrigation  Scheme,  and  hope  that 
the  conditions  necessary  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
enterprise  will  be  fulfilled ;  and  one  cannot  but  feel, 
that,  while  there  was  a  certain  noble  side  in  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  British  Foreign  Office  and  Embassy  not 
to  push  the  cause  of  British  trade  in  Turkey  during 
the  long  period  when  British  influence  was  so  great, 
and  though  certain  advantages  accrued  from  that 
policy  (which  have  been  stated  already),  yet  the  Ger- 
man policy,  whereby  the  Embassy  actively  supports 
and  guides  German  enterprise,  has  done  far  more 
practical  benefit  to  Turkey  as  well  as  to  Germany. 
Contrast  the  slow  progress  of  the  English  railways 
in  Turkey  under  English  influence  with  the  rapid 
progress  of  two  of  the  same  railways  as  soon  as  they 


304  May  and  June 


were  transferred  to  German  and  French  companies.1 
The  English  railways  could  only  grow  very  slowly, 
as  money  could  be  raised  in  a  hesitating  market  for 
one  step  after  another  ;  the  Turkish  guarantees  were 
never  enforced  ;  and  the  return  from  the  railway 
depended  entirely  on  the  gradual  development  of 
prosperity  in  the  country  that  resulted  from  the  work- 
ing of  the  line,  the  improvement  of  communication, 
and  the  development  of  trading  opportunities.  I 
know  several  English  merchants,  staunchly  patriotic 
to  their  own  country,  who,  during  the  last  years  of  the 
old  regime,  would  have  welcomed  the  advent  of  Ger- 
many to  control  and  regulate  the  whole  administra- 
tion of  Turkey  in  the  same  way  that  Great  Britain 
manages  Egypt.  How  far  their  hopes  of  a  regenera- 
tion of  Turkey  from  inside  have  been  increased,  and 
their  attitude  towards  European  intervention  affected, 
by  the  rise  of  the  Young  Turks,  I  have  not  had  the 
opportunity  of  learning.  The  fact  is  that  the  best 
interests  of  Germany  and  England  and  Turkey  are 
identical,  but  only  a  few  recognise  this. 

In  and  around  the  Black  Mountain  we  had  to  do  a 
week's  work  on  details  connected  with  a  book,  which 

1  The  Anatolian  Railway,  originally  English,  was  transferred  to 
the  Germans  in  1889  mainly  through  the  resolute  support  of  Sir 
William  White,  a  strong  Ambassador,  whose  policy  (approved  by 
both  political  parties  in  this  country)  was  to  throw  Germany  across 
the  line  of  Ru  ssian  advance  in  Anatolia.  The  control  of  the  Mersina, 
Tarsus  and  Adana  Railway  was  acquired  by  Germans  through 
purchase  of  shares  in  the  market.  The  Smyrna  and  Cassaba 
Railway  lapsed  to  the  Government,  and  was  given  to  a  French 
group.  Some  large  English  enterprises  began  in  1909. 


XXXII.— P.  304. 


Hittite  Altar  from  Emit  Ghazi  (now  in  the  Imperial  Museum  at 
Constantinople).     Photograph  by  Professor  Callander. 

5^.312. 


A  Journey  for  a  Horseshoe  305 

was  in  the  Press,  called  The  Thousand  and  One 
Churches^  Such  is  the  Turkish  name  of  a  remark- 
able ancient  site  in  a  hollow  on  the  north  side  of  the 
mountain,  containing  about  twenty-seven  churches 
and  numerous  other  remains  of  a  Byzantine  city. 
The  site  has  been  often  visited,  and  is  in  many  re- 
spects very  picturesque  and  interesting.  In  1907 
Miss  Gertrude  Bell,  with  my  wife  and  myself,  made 
some  excavations  there  to  clear  up  the  plan  and  settle 
the  period  of  the  churches,  and  of  many  others  in 
various  parts  of  the  mountain  ;  and  we  had  the  good 
fortune  to  discover  also  two  "  high -places  "  of  the  old 
Hittite  religion,  and  a  small  Hittite  fortified  town. 

From  the  Kara  Dagh  we  went  on  to  Emir  Ghazi, 
which  lies  at  the  north-eastern  end  of  the  Karadja 
Dagh.  It  is  about  eighteen  hours  from  our  camp 
at  the  Thousand  and  One  Churches  ;  but,  as  we 
zig-zagged  about  in  pursuit  of  prey,  at  the  end  of  four 
long  days  we  were  still  six  hours  distant  from  the 
village. 

It  illustrates  the  industrial  poverty  of  the  country 
that  a  horse,  which  cast  a  shoe  in  the  Black  Mountain, 
could  not  be  reshod  until  we  reached  Konia  again. 
During  more  than  a  fortnight's  travelling,  in  the 
course  of  which  we  were  always  on  the  outlook  for  a 
blacksmith  within  reasonable  distance,  no  opportunity 
occurred  nearer  than  Konia  (fifteen  hours  from  the 
Kara  Dagh);  yet  during  that  time  we  passed  at 
different  times  through  the  Government  town  of  Kara 

1  It  is  now  published  (Messrs.  Hodder  &  Stoughton). 
2O 


306  May  and  June 


Bunar,  where  an  official  of  the  rank  of  a  Kaimmakam 
(a  grade  corresponding  in  the  army  to  a  Colonel, 
and  used  in  the  Civil  Service  for  the  Governor  of  a 
large  district,  a  subdivision  of  a  Province)  has  his 
official  residence,  and  also  through  the  important 
station  of  Sultan  Khan  on  what  was  one  of  the 
greatest  routes  of  the  country  until  the  German  Ana- 
tolian Railway  changed  the  lines  of  commerce  and 
communication.  Not  merely  was  there  in  those 
places,  and  in  several  large  villages  through  or  near 
which  we  passed,  no  blacksmith,  there  was  not  one 
even  within  a  moderate  distance  of  our  road. 

The  disuse  of  pack-horses  and  the  employment  of 
waggons  on  the  roads  that  feed  the  railway  has 
destroyed  the  blacksmith's  trade  ;  and  whereas  twenty 
or  thirty  years  ago  even  in  small  villages  one  could 
find  two  or  three  horses,  and  we  never  experienced 
any  serious  difficulty  in  getting  a  blacksmith  at  need, 
and  used  to  grumble  if  we  had  to  go  two  hours  off 
our  road  for  that  purpose,  now  the  case  in  the  large 
area  which  we  traversed  is  as  I  have  described. 
Sometimes,  when  one  wishes  to  hire  two  or  three 
horses  for  a  day,  one  finds  that  there  are  none.  Even 
in  a  large  city  like  Konia  it  is  hard  to  hire  horses  ; 
there  are  none  but  carriage  and  waggon  horses,  and 
hardly  any  one  will  hire  out  horses  for  riding. 

As  we  passed  through  Kara  Bunar,  where  Govern- 
ment officials  were  about,  we  observed  that  our  Greek 
servant  the  Jinnji  had  discarded  for  the  day  his 
gorgeous  Turkish  dress  and  put  on  his  shabby  old 
garb,  half- European,  half-Greek.  We  were  curious 


The  Magician  Disguises  himself  307 

about  the  reason,  but  could  never  discover  it.  He 
said  that  he  had  friends  there  who  would  be  surprised 
to  see  him  in  Turkish  dress,  but  he  had  had  no 
scruple  in  going  about  through  Konia  (his  permanent 
abode)  in  that  dress.  Nor  could  it  be  fear  of  the 
officials,  for  he  had  showed  no  fear  of  the  officials  in 
Konia,  from  whom  he  had  suffered  much  on  many 
occasions.  It  was  one  of  those  curious  pieces  of 
conduct  which  puzzle  the  traveller  desirous  of  under- 
standing the  ways  of  the  people  and  the  reasons  that 
actuate  them.  Four  hours  out  of  Kara  Bunar  the 
Jinnji  gladdened  our  eyes  again  with  his  splendid 
attire.  Possibly  he  owed  money  to  some  one  in  Kara 
Bunar,  and  wished  to  wear  an  appearance  of  poverty, 
but  this  is  a  guess  with  nothing  to  support  it.  I  doubt 
if  any  one  but  myself  has  ever  lent  him  money. 

I  pass  over  some  quaint  incidents  of  this  part  of 
the  journey,  and  make  no  attempt  to  describe  the 
remarkable  volcanic  phenomena  of  the  region  round 
Kara  Bunar.  Our  first  object  was  to  trace  the  history 
of  the  Mithraic  statuette,  which  we  saw  at  Konia  in 
a  dealer's  hands,  and  which  was  said  to  have  been 
brought  from  the  Karadja  Dagh.  Accepting  this 
statement  I  unhesitatingly  inferred  that  the  figure  of 
the  Roman  soldier  had  been  found  by  the  villagers 
at  Emir  Ghazi,  and  that  this  place  was  a  Roman 
military  station  (for  which  its  position  makes  it  excep- 
tionally suitable).1  I  shall  here  reproduce  part  of  an 
article  which  I  wrote  at  Emir  Ghazi,  and  which  was 
published  in  the  Athenaum,  3rd  July,  1909. 

^ee  p.  222. 


308  May  and  June 


"  I  had  begun  to  be  apprehensive  during  the  night 
watches,  when  one  lies  awake  and  thinks  over  past 
mistakes  and  sins,  that  I  had  perhaps  been  too  hasty 
in  founding  so  much  on  the  bare  statement  of  the 
dealer  in  Konia  as  to  the  provenance  of  the  Mithraic 
statuette.  Could  it  be  a  forgery,  which  he  was  trying 
to  foist  on  me,  knowing  that  I  had  been  digging  at 
Emir  Ghazi,  under  Karadja  Dagh,  last  year  ?  But 
always  the  conviction  forced  itself  on  me  that  the 
statuette  was  rude  village  work  of  an  ancient  date, 
and  not  that  of  a  modern  forger.  No  good  judge 
will  hesitate  to  pronounce  it  a  genuine  work.  If  it 
comes  from  Karadja  Dagh,  then  Emir  Ghazi  or  the 
neighbourhood  must  be  the  place :  historical  and 
topographical  considerations  made  this  inevitable. 
Yet  the  views  which  I  stated  remained  a  theory  ;  and 
one  cannot  convey  to  others  the  assurance  that  one 
has  from  one's  own  knowledge  and  instinct.  To  con- 
vince others  external  evidence  is  necessary. 

' '  That  evidence  is  now  complete.  The  statuette  was 
found  at  Emir  Ghazi,  but  not  during  the  last  few 
months.  It  was  discovered  several  years  ago,  and  was 
lying  safely  hid  in  a  house  in  the  village  all  the  time 
that  we  were  working  there  Jast  year.  In  fact,  we 
had  heard  a  rumour  of  its  existence,  as  the  Jinnji  re- 
minded me ;  he  had  tried  hard  to  find  out  the  house, 
but  had  failed.  Had  we  discovered  it,  the  statuette 
would  now  be  in  the  Constantinople  Museum.  As 
we  failed,  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  illicit  trade  in 
antiques  ;  and  by  this  time  is  perhaps  in  the  European 
market,  being  palmed  off  as  discovered  at  some 


Method  of  getting  Information  309 

Mithraic  shrine  on  the  Danube  or  the  Rhine  frontier. 
Its  historic  value  lies  in  its  origin  ;  and  hence  the 
importance  of  making  this  widely  known  through  a 
journal  of  recognised  high  character. 

"  Our  discovery  came  about  in  a  curious  way,  which 
illustrates  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  information  in 
Asia  Minor  during  a  single  journey,  and  shows  how 
important  for  historical  purposes  it  is  to  have  some 
experienced  person  going  about  annually,  picking  up 
pieces  of  evidence  and  fitting  them  together.  I  often 
find  that  some  scrap  of  information  which  I  learned 
casually  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  which  seemed  too 
unimportant  to  be  published  or  even  registered,  com- 
pletes and  is  completed  by  some  new  piece  of  evi- 
dence, in  itself  equally  valueless,  picked  up  by  us  or 
by  some  other  recent  traveller ;  and  the  two  taken 
together  reveal  an  unknown  page  of  history. 

"  On  the  way  here  we  arranged  our  journey  so  as 
to  arrive  by  noon,  and  thus  find  some  people  in  the 
village :  at  this  season,  as  a  rule,  every  one  is  out  in 
)  summer  quarters,  but  during  the  day  a  few  people 
usually  come  in  for  some  purpose  or  another.  The 
houses  are  all  locked  up ;  Emir  Ghazi  is  a  centre  of 
civilisation  with  200  houses  and  the  same  number  of 
padlocks ; 1  and  a  peculiar  malodour  hangs  about  the 
place,  which  is  unique,  unforgettable,  unmistakable. 
Any  one  who  has  once  been  in  Emir  Ghazi  would 
recognise  the  place,  if  he  were  suddenly  set  down 

1  Padlocks  have  recently  been  introduced  into  this  region  ; 
formerly  every  door  stood  open,  or  was  fastened  by  a  bar,  which 
could  be  moved  by  any  one  from  the  outside. 


3io  May  and  June 


there  on  a  pitch-dark  night.  Yet  it  stands  almost  on 
the  summit  of  a  slight  watershed,  in  a  gap  between 
Karadja  Dagh  and  Arissama  Dagh,  raised  a  little 
above  the  great  plains  of  Lycaonia  to  the  west  and 
Cappadocia  to  the  east ;  and  a  breeze  is  generally 
blowing  through  the  pass.  To-day  at  9  A.M.  the  sun 
is  bright  without  being  very  hot,  and  a  gentle  wind 
makes  the  air  cool  in  the  shade.  Yet  the  village  is  a 
mass  of  filth  and  pollution,  and  the  only  water  is  found 
in  wells  amid  this  stagnant  putrefying  sore  upon  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  There  was  one  well,  which  was 
said  to  have  good  water,  from  which  we  were  supplied 
the  first  night ;  but  next  day  one  of  our  servants  came 
to  inform  us  '  the  water  stinks :  a  cat  fell  into  the 
well'.  What  we  do  now  for  water  I  shrink  from  in- 
quiring; but  the  men  say  it  is  all  right,  and  they 
drink  it  freely  without  showing  any  signs  of  disease 
as  the  result. 

"  Our  plan  of  approach  miscarried.  The  village 
where  we  had  camped  the  preceding  night  was  too 
distant,  or  we  were  too  late  in  starting :  and  we 
stopped  to  lunch  at  a  Yaila  about  an  hour  short  of 
Emir  Ghazi.  On  this  casual  event  hung  our  fate. 
We  met  there  a  very  tall  young  man,  evidently  a 
person  of  birth  and  standing ;  and  all  recognised  each 
other  as  old  friends.  He  had  been  in  Emir  Ghazi 
last  year,  when  we  were  obliged  to  break  open  several 
houses  and  to  send  three  of  the  leading  men  to  prison 
for  concealment  of  antiques  (which  are  all  legally  the 
property  of  the  Government).  On  that  occasion  the 
young  man,  who  is  called  Ali  Osman,  had  looked  on 


Discovery  of  the  Mithraic  Statuette         311 

with  great  amusement,  and  cheered  us  in  our  task 
by  his  evident  sympathy.  That  surprised  us  at  the 
time  ;  but  the  reason  became  evident  when  we  found 
that  he  belonged  to  another  village.  The  Emir 
Ghazili  are  much  disliked  by  all  their  neighbours — 
and  it  is  only  from  their  neighbours  that  we  can  get 
any  information  about  their  illicit  property  in  antiques. 
In  conversation  at  lunch  Ali  Osman  told  me  that  at 
Emir  Ghazi  some  one,  whose  name  he  did  not  know, 
had  dug  up  a  stone  chest.  This  report  was  interest- 
ing, and  seemed  to  confirm  the  story  told  me  in  Konia 
that  a  sarcophagus  of  the  Sidamaria  type,  but  smaller, 
had  been  found  at  Emir  Ghazi.  Ali  Osman  said  that 
he  had  not  been  told  of  any  figures  carved  on  the 
outside  of  the  chest ;  the  story,  as  he  had  heard  it, 
was  that  the  finders  broke  the  stone  box,  and  found 
inside  of  it  another  stone  box,  which  also  they  broke, 
disclosing  an  idol  wrapped  in  several  folds  of  cloth. 
The  idol  was  about  a  foot  high,  as  he  indicated  by  a 
gesture.  What  had  become  of  it  he  did  not  know  ; 
but  his  informant  was  the  son  of  Osman  Effendi  of 
Emir  Ghazi,  who  was  not  the  finder,  but  would  be 
able  to  tell  us  more.  At  once,  of  course,  I  suspected 
that  this  'idol'  was  the  Mithraic  statuette.  My 
knowledge  of  Turkish  was  not  sufficient  to  investigate 
regarding  minuter  details,  so  I  called  the  Jinnji  and 
set  him  to  work.  He  knew  who  the  Armenian 
dealer  was,  and  could  describe  him  ;  and  after  some 
conversation  with  several  people  who  had  heard  the 
story,  he  established  the  fact  that  the  '  idol '  had  been 
sold  to  the  Armenian  trader  in  Konia.  The  circle  of 


312  May  and  June 


evidence  was  complete ;  and  the  inferences  drawn  in 
my  preceding  paper  may,  I  think,  be  now  regarded 
as  raised  to  the  level  of  practical  certainty. 

"  Had  it  not  been  for  this  fortunate  meeting  with 
Ali  Osman,  we  should  have  failed  to  trace  the  statu- 
ette. The  Emir  Ghazili  are  the  most  disagreeable 
and  secretive  Turks  whom  I  have  ever  met.  The 
first  discovery  of  a  Hittite  monument  not  far  away 
from  the  village  was  made  with  the  help  of  one  of 
them  by  Prof.  T.  Callander  and  my  Greek  servant ; 
but  as  soon  as  the  inhabitants  found  that  such  stones 
interested  us,  they  gathered  them  into  their  houses, 
and  all  further  discovery  has  been  made,  in  spite  of 
their  efforts,  by  active  personal  search  and  through 
information  given  by  outsiders.  This  year  even  my 
Greek  servant,  with  all  his  skill  and  with  the  know- 
ledge we  already  possess  of  the  facts,  has  found  it  im- 
possible to  gather  any  further  information  about  the 
sarcophagus.  I  was  anxious  to  find  the  fragments 
and  the  exact  locality  ;  but  beyond  the  facts  which 
we  knew  already,  and  which  they  admit,  they  disclose 
nothing. 

"  Yet  these  people  are  very  anxious  that  we  should 
stay  and  dig.  They  fully  realise  the  advantages  of 
having  guests  who  pour  into  the  village  about  £10 
per  day ;  they  know  that  it  would  recreate  the  place ; 
they  ask  us  to  make  an  aqueduct  to  bring  running 
water  into  the  village  ;  but  they  will  give  no  informa- 
tion and  no  help,  and  cheat  us  at  every  turn.  I  tell 
them  that,  if  we  dig,  they  will  earn  money  enough  to 
make  the  aqueduct;  but  that  I  will  not  dig  unless 


XXXIII.— P.  312. 


Stone  in  the  Cemetery  of  the  Holy  Transfiguration  at  Konia :  one  side. 

Seep.  318. 


Prospects  of  Excavation  313 

they  disclose  the  two  remaining  Hittite  inscriptions, 
which  we  know  to  be  hidden  in  the  village.  As  yet 
we  have  made  no  progress.  We  had  to  become 
agents  of  the  Government  last  year  in  order  to  bring 
forth  two  stones  which  we  had  traced,  and  Govern- 
ment is  always  hated  ;  but  they  were  just  as  disagree- 
able of  old,  when  we  were  trying  to  buy  the  stones. 
I  always  try  first  of  all  the  power  of  money,  and  only 
in  the  last  resort  appeal  to  the  Government,  which 
sends  its  own  officials  to  take  forcible  possession. 
These  Hittite  stones  are  sent  to  Stamboul  to  the 
Museum.  It  is  cheaper  to  appeal  to  the  Government, 
but  much  surer  to  buy  forthwith  and  present  the 
stones  to  the  Museum. 

"  Last  year  we  made  some  trial  excavations  on  a 
large  mound  called  Mal-Tepe,  "  Treasure  Hill,"  a 
mile  north  of  Emir  Ghazi,  and  near  the  south-west 
end  of  Arissama  Dagh.  We  established  the  fact  that 
it  was  of  early  period,  for  all  the  pottery  was  hand- 
made ;  and  the  fragments  which  were  ornamented 
and  thus  gave  chronological  evidence  were  of  the 
seventh  century  B.C.  We  made  deep  trenches  in  the 
top,  but  all  this  part  had  already  been  dug  by  the 
natives  in  search  of  treasure,  and  nothing  of  value 
can  be  found  without  much  deeper  digging. 

"  We  have  now  come  out  to  make  some  further 
excavation,  and  to  see  what  can  be  picked  up  from 
the  results  of  the  villagers'  digging  during  the  last  ten 
months.  It  was  also  desirable  to  locate  the  sites 
more  exactly.  I  have  never  been  able  to  find  the 
spot  from  which  the  Hittite  monuments  come;  but  I 


314  May  and  June 


have  long  felt  that  Emir  Ghazi  is  not  itself  the  site  of 
that  ancient  city.  The  graves  close  around  it  are  all 
late  Roman,  so  far  as  the  accessible  evidence  goes  : 
nothing  found  at  the  town  has  ever  been  shown  me 
that  could  be  regarded  as  earlier  than  that  period  ; 
and  the  five  Hittite  stones,  probably,  have  been 
brought  from  some  old  site  in  the  neighbourhood, 
still  undiscovered. 

"  Emir  Ghazi  was  a  Roman  site.  Khasbia  is  given 
in  Lycaonia  by  Ptolemy,  and  the  village  lies  half  a 
mile  on  the  Lycaonian  side  of  the  watershed.  But,  if 
it  was  a  station  of  Roman  troops  (as  was  argued  in 
my  former  paper),  these  must  have  been  a  detach- 
ment of  the  Cappadocian  army.  Khasbia,  then,  must 
have  been  transferred  to  Cappadocia  when  it  became 
a  military  station.  Arissama  lies  six  kilometres  on 
the  Cappadocian  side  of  the  watershed  ;  moreover,  the 
part  of  Lycaonia  in  which  Khasbia  lies  is  assigned  by 
Ptolemy  to  the  Province  Cappadocia. 

"The  modern  village  is  almost  certainly  not  the 
early  Hittite  site,  though  it  was  a  Roman  site.  We 
have  examined  an  ancient  site  on  Arissama  Dagh, 
near  the  east  end  :  we  picked  up  Greek,  Hellenic  and 
Roman  pottery  on  the  site,  but  could  not  find  a  scrap 
of  early  ware ;  yet  the  story  is  that  all  the  Hittite 
stones  have  been  brought  from  this  site,  and  the  place 
has  been  excavated  from  end  to  end  by  villagers  in 
search  of  stones.  The  same  absence  of  early  pottery 
characterises  also  the  Kizil  Dagh  fort,  near  the  north- 
western end  of  the  Kara  Dagh.  There  Hellenic 
ware  is  abundant,  but  I  failed  to  find  any  scrap  that 


An  old  Military  Station  315 

could  pass  as  earlier  than  Hellenic.  Yet  the  gate 
of  the  fort  bears  a  Hittite  inscription,  and  a  great 
Hittite  monument  with  three  inscriptions  is  carved  on 
the  hillside,  one  hundred  yards  from  the  wall  of  the 
fort.  That  fortress  needs  to  be  excavated,  in  order 
to  determine  what  was  the  character  of  the  Hittite 
pottery  in  Lycaonia  and  South  Cappadocia ;  but,  evi- 
dently, the  absence  of  any  obviously  pre- Hellenic 
pottery  on  the  surface  does  not  prove  that  the  site 
was  not  pre- Hellenic. 

"  On  the  central  peak  of  Arissama  Dagh,  a  very 
steep  cone  rising  out  of  the  centre  of  a  deep  bowl, 
there  is  a  fort  in  unusually  good  preservation,  the  age 
of  which  I  could  not  determine,  but  should  guess  to 
be  early  Byzantine  (say  of  Justinian's  time).  The 
mountain  was  undoubtedly  sacred ;  and  I  would 
suggest  that  the  letter  r  in  the  name  Ardistama  is  one 
of  the  various  Hellenic  devices  for  expressing  the 
Anatolian  sound  ng :  then  the  name  indicates  the 
mountain  and  city  of  Angdistis  or  Agdistis,  the  Phry- 
gian and  pre- Phrygian  androgynous  god  of  the  central 
plateau. 

"  We  found  it  advisable  to  postpone  excavation  on 
this  site  until  next  year.  The  country  is  not  as  yet 
sufficiently  peaceable  for  regular  settled  work  in  a 
place  so  far  from  any  centre  of  authority  as  Emir 
Ghazi.  Last  month  we  dug  at  Dorla,  which  is  in  the 
more  orderly  and  settled  country,  forty  miles  south  of 
Konia.  But  here  we  are  out  on  the  sparsely  inhabited 
plains,  among  half-nomad  Turkmens,  who  are  in  a 
way  very  kindly  and  pleasant  to  deal  with,  but  who 


316  May  and  June 


until  fifty  years  ago  were  all  robbers  and  practically 
independent  of  the  Ottoman  Government.  During 
the  present  year  disbanded  or  absconded  soldiers  of 
the  old  regime  might  be  met  anywhere.  Always 
contrabandists  are  engaged  in  smuggling  tobacco ; 
and  a  band  of  them  are  dangerous  to  travellers  (as 
Prof.  Callander  found  in  1907),  though  singly  they 
are  only  anxious  to  escape  notice.  In  such  a  region 
a  traveller  constantly  on  the  move  can  go  about 
and  take  the  small  risks  of  the  situation  ;  his  move- 
ments are  unknown,  and  no  plan  can  be  prepared 
against  him.  But  to  settle  down  for  weeks  in  one 
spot,  eighty  miles  east  of  Konia,  known  to  be  in  posses- 
sion of  a  considerable  sum  of  money  daily  needed  to  pay 
workmen  and  feed  a  large  camp,  is  a  much  more 
hazardous  business  ;  and,  until  the  new  Government 
is  more  firmly  established,  it  is  not  prudent  to  live 
more  than  a  few  days  in  a  place  like  Emir  Ghazi. 
We  therefore  are  separating,  in  order  to  devote  the 
rest  of  our  time  to  travel  and  exploration." 


IV.  THE  RETURN  JOURNEY 

AFTER  four  weeks  of  continuous  travelling  we  reached 
Konia  again.  The  Hulme  Scholar  with  the  Jinnji 
had  gone  southwards.  He  wrote  from  Eregli,  where 
he  stayed  four  days,  helping  an  English  clergyman 
who  was  trying,  with  little  knowledge  of  the  country 
or  people,  to  recover  (as  he  said)  400  Armenian 
women  and  girls,  stolen  from  Adana  during  the  mas- 
sacres, and  now  captives  among  the  mountain  nomads. 
The  authorities  could  do  nothing,  because  the  nomads 
would  have  killed  their  prisoners  rather  than  admit 
their  fault  ;  and  it  was  impossible  to  detect  a  girl  here 
and  there  among  the  tents,  dressed  like  others  and 
terrorised  into  silence.  A  letter  was  waiting  us, 
begging  me  to  appeal  to  the  Porte. 

The  case  was  a  melancholy  one ;  but  we  saw  no 
chance  of  doing  any  good.  The  clergyman  was 
unknown  to  me,  and  one  could  not  trust  his  opinion 
that  the  local  officials  ought  to  be  more  active.  More- 
over, my  position  in  Turkey  has  been  acquired  by 
keeping  free  from  politics  and  doing  my  own  work  ; 
and  I  was  not  justified  in  sacrificing  my  opportunities 
by  interfering,  when  the  facts  were  unknown  to  me 
except  by  hearsay.  Three  days  later  a  telegram 
arrived  from  the  writer,  bidding  me  disregard  his 
letter ;  and  I  was  heartily  glad  that  I  had  done  so. 

(317) 


318  June  and  July 


The  fact  that  a  good  many  girls  are  captive  in  the 
mountains  is,  I  believe,  certain.  A  few  will  escape. 
The  rest  will  probably  be  detained  for  life,  and  merged 
among  the  nomads.  The  local  authorities,  however, 
are  powerless,  and  complaints  against  their  inaction 
are  unjustified.  Men  in  Turkey  will  not,  and  cannot, 
interfere  in  the  family  arrangements  of  Moslems,  or 
inspect  the  women.  The  Turkish  officials  are  few  in 
number ;  they  have  much  to  do,  and  often  cannot 
succeed  in  performing  their  necessary  duties.  To 
search  out  those  captives  is  a  long  and  delicate  task ; 
and  would  certainly  cause  the  death  of  many,  if  a  few 
were  recovered.  I  cannot  blame  those  who  refuse 
to  attempt  the  task.  A  patriotic  Armenian,  whom  I 
consulted,  said  that  nothing  could  be  done  :  the  women 
had  been  lost,  and  were  not  recoverable  by  man  at 
present :  he  believed  that  there  were  several  hundreds 
in  this  situation. 

In  the  cemetery  beside  the  Greek  church  of  the 
Holy  Transfiguration,  my  wife  photographed  two 
sides  of  a  marble  plaque,  transformed  into  a  modern 
tombstone  with  a  new  epitaph.  One  side  of  the  plaque 
I  should  have  unhesitatingly  described  as  Seljuk 
work ;  but  the  other  is  unmistakably  Christian ;  the 
great  cross  and  the  peacocks  are  a  common  Byzantine 
ornament.  This  stone  is  published  as  a  warning 
against  hasty  judgment  in  Plates  XXXIII.,  XXXIV. 

A  traveller  who  was  in  Adana  during  the  massacres 
gives  an  appalling  description  of  them.  The  intense 
hatred  of  the  Moslems  towards  the  Armenians  as 
money-lenders  and  usurers  had  much  to  do  with  the 


XXXIV.— P.  318. 


Stone  in  the  Cemetery  of  the  Holy  Transfiguration  at  Konia  :  other  side 
(modern  epitaph  at  top). 


The  Massacres  at  Adana  319 

outbreak;  but  it  was  fostered  and  encouraged  by 
authority.  This  traveller  saw  the  murderers  playing 
a  game,  in  which  one  tossed  a  child  to  another,  who 
caught  it  on  his  bayonet :  if  he  transfixed  it  neatly, 
he  received  five  piastres.  That  is  only  one  trifle  in 
an  indescribable  variety  of  ways  of  inflicting  death. 
Many  hundred  Turks  were  killed  in  the  fighting  ;  and 
the  most  trustworthy  authorities  think  that  the  total 
number  of  killed  cannot  be  much  less  than  20,000 ; 
but  the  Turks  official  estimate  is  only  7,000.  It  is 
believed  that  Major  Doughty  Wylie  saved  the  lives 
of  several  thousands,  who  would  have  been  burned 
but  for  his  personal  exertions. 

It  now  became  necessary  to  send  our  daughter 
home.  No  proper  medical  attention  could  be  got  in 
Konia,  and  it  was  best  for  her  to  go  direct  to  London. 
I  wrote  to  one  of  the  leading  English  residents  in 
Constantinople,  asking  him  to  get  her  passport  and 
take  her  place  in  the  Orient  Express,  so  that  she 
might  arrive  in  the  evening,  stay  the  night  on  the 
Asiatic  side  near  the  railway  terminus,  and  cross  next 
day  direct  to  the  European  railway  station ;  and 
explained  that  she  could  not  stand  the  fatigue  of 
making  the  needed  arrangements  in  the  brief  interval 
between  two  long  solitary  journeys.  As  things  turned 
out,  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  Aberdeen  University 
recalled  me  to  make  arrangements  for  next  winter's 
classes,  and  we  all  went  down  together.  My  friend 
told  me  that  he  had  engaged  a  place  in  the  Express, 
but  a  passport  could  not  be  got  without  the  personal 
attendance  in  the  Consulate  of  the  person  who  desired 


320  June  and  July 


the  passport.  He  knew  that  this  was  so,  as  he 
himself,  though  known  to  all  the  officials  for  forty 
years  and  more,  could  not  get  a  passport  without 
making  the  journey  in  person  to  the  Consulate.  Still 
he  had  written  explaining  the  circumstances,  and  ask- 
ing if  an  exception  could  be  made :  but  the  law  was 
inexorable,  and  the  Consul  was  powerless.  At  the 
Embassy  this  was  confirmed :  no  exceptions  were 
permitted  by  the  rules.  At  the  request  of  one  of  the 
Embassy  officials  the  Consul  courteously  said  that  he 
would  send  a  Consular  official  to  interview  the  young 
lady  ;  but  this  message  did  not  reach  me  until  5  P.M., 
and  the  Consulate  closed  at  3  ;  so  that  nothing  could 
be  done  to  take  advantage  of  the  courtesy.  I  went  to 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  who  gave  me  a  letter  to 
the  Chief  of  Police  ;  and  the  latter  wrote  an  autograph 
order  to  his  officers  at  the  railway  station  and  at  the 
Turkish  frontier.  At  the  station,  I  explained  that  the 
lady  had  no  passport,  but  handed  the  order  to  the 
officers  :  one  of  them  read  it,  and  gave  it  back  saying, 
"This  would  pass  a  hundred  people". 

Now,  what  one  wonders  is,  as  already  stated  on 
p.  250,  why  our  Foreign  Office  should  make  such 
rigid  new  rules.  Why  should  a  Consul-General  in 
Constantinople,  who  is  trusted  with  such  serious  and 
wide  responsibilities,  be  denied  the  power  to  issue  a 
passport  to  a  lady  too  ill  to  appear  personally  at  the 
Consulate,  or  to  one  of  the  leading  Englishmen  in 
Turkey,  unless  he  goes  there?  All  this  red  tape  is 
of  recent  manufacture.  None  of  these  absurdities 
ever  happened  until  a  few  years  ago.  This  and 


Passports  and  Red  Tape  321 

many  other  restrictions  have  been  introduced  since 
Sir  E.  Grey  came  into  office.  Is  he  responsible  for 
them?  Is  he  aware  of  them?  Or  are  they  the 
growth  of  a  noxious  weed,  which  is  gradually  substi- 
tuting cast-iron  regulation  of  the  German  type  for  the 
common-sense  and  personal  initiative,  which  were 
formerly  expected  of  and  permitted  to  our  Consuls  in 
Turkey  ? 

In  1884,  for  the  first  time,  we  got  a  passport  in 
Athens,  certifying  that  my  wife  and  I  were  British 
subjects.  For  twenty-two  years  it  served  us,  some- 
times separately,  sometimes  alone.  But  in  1906,  when 
she  was  returning  home  from  Constantinople  with  a 
daughter,  she  sent  this  and  also  her  daughter's  separate 
passport  to  the  Consulate  through  the  Bible-House, 
surely  a  sufficiently  respectable  and  trustworthy  in- 
stitution, to  get  the  visa  required  for  departure.  They 
were  sent  back  with  the  message  that  no  visa  could 
be  given  unless  she  applied  in  person  ;  and  she  had 
to  make  the  journey,  requiring  much  time,  from  a 
point  high  up  on  the  opposite  side,  to  Galata  for  this 
one  purpose.  Then  a  new  difficulty  was  discovered. 
The  officials  knew  that  I  had  left  some  weeks  before, 
and  a  joint  passport  could  not  be  used  for  one.  She 
explained  that  it  had  been  repeatedly  used  singly  for 
twenty -two  years ;  but  the  officials  insisted  that  she 
must  get  a  separate  passport  for  her  single  self.  She 
declined  to  do  so,  made  them  put  the  visa  on  the 
young  lady's  passport,  and  broke  the  law  by  leaving 
without  a  visa  on  her  own.  An  experienced  traveller 
can  always  manage  these  things ;  but  one  prefers  to 

21 


322  June  and  July 


obey  the  law,  so  long  as  it  is  reasonably  possible  to 
do  so. 

A  missionary  in  Asia  Minor,  a  British  subject,  sent 
through  the  Bible-House  a  request  to  have  the  birth 
of  his  child  registered.  This  could  not  be  done  unless 
he  came  in  person,  five  days'  journey  by  horse  and 
train.  At  last  the  Foreign  Office  was  consulted  and 
granted  exemption.  As  time  passed,  the  birth  of  a 
second  child  required  registration  ;  the  same  objections 
were  made,  and  the  Foreign  Office  had  to  be  again 
consulted. 

One  could  make  a  volume  of  the  stories  which 
many  British  subjects  in  Turkey  tell  of  the  way  in 
which  these  new  rules  work,  causing  the  maximum  of 
inconvenience  to  every  one,  and  producing  no  gain. 
If  any  British  subject  can  get  a  passport  through  his 
Bank  in  England,  why  cannot  he  do  so  in  Turkey, 
where  every  one  is  known?  The  Bible- House,  among 
its  other  duties,  acts  as  Banker  for  the  whole  Mission- 
ary organisation. 

The  passport  system  is  an  anachronism  in  Europe  ; 
and  the  increased  stringency  of  the  new  rules  is  a 
retrogression  towards  barbarism  (as  is  pointed  out 
on  p.  250).  Everything  that  fetters  free  intercourse 
among  the  nations  is  illiberal  and  wrong. 

As  regards  health,  1909  was  the  worst  year  I  have 
known.  The  Hulme  Scholar  started  on  a  big  expedi- 
tion in  the  third  week  of  June.  In  August  he  reached 
Scotland  looking  twenty  years  older,  having  spent 
much  of  the  intervening  weeks  in  the  enjoyment  of 
typhoid  fever.  My  wife  and  I  escaped  illness  on 


An  Unhealthy  Season  323 

the  journey  ;  but  I  suffered  almost  continuously  from 
neuralgia  in  the  head  for  three  months  after  returning, 
while  she  suffered  much  longer  and  more  severely 
from  the  same  cause.  The  records  of  exploration  in 
Asia  Minor  show  how  severely  it  has  tried  the  health 
of  those  who  have  engaged  long  in  it ;  but,  from  the 
causes  explained  already  (pp.  279  f.,  287,  299),  this 
was  an  exceptional  year,  and  disease  was  rife  in  the 
country. 


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